• Composer: KINKEL, Johanna (1810 - 1858)
• Year of Composition 1849
• 979-0-708209-30-0

These six songs reflect the revolutionary turmoil of 1849, the year in which they were first published. With descriptive piano accompaniments, the mood ranges from ultimately sad to humourous. The revolutionary poet, Gottfried Kinkel, wrote the poems for four of the songs. The words for the other two songs were written by Johanna Kinkel, who also composed all the music.

Our new 2025 edition of the opus 21 songs has an improved layout and revamped translations by Rosalind Trübger, enabling the songs to be performed with the original German text or sung in English, as the rhyming translations closely follow the original meter, meaning and rhyme pattern.

I have selected the fifth song in the group, Abendlied nach der Schlacht, for the video example, because it has an especial resonance for these times, as the poet sadly surveys the terrible aftermath of a battle.

SAMPLE:

Longer samples opens in Soundcloud

Johanna Kinkel (also Mathieux or Mockel) was a working mother who, in her short life, was effected by sexual inequality, domestic abuse and an undemocratic regime. She wrote books, composed music, gave piano and singing lessons and conducted a choir. Born in Bonn (Germany) she studied music there with Beethoven’s early teacher. As an adult, she spent time in Berlin, where she was a friend of Fanny Mendelssohn, before returning to Bonn and getting caught up in the revolutionary events of 1849, eventually helping her husband, Gottfried Kinkel, to escape from Spandau prison, before emigrating with him and their four children to London. There her short life ended tragically when she fell (or was pushed?) from her bedroom window in near Paddington station.