Harp Sonata in E minor "Undine", Op. 167

Reinecke's Harp Sonata 'Undine' (1883), inspired by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's fairy tale of the water spirit Undine and her love for a mortal knight, is the most important original sonata for harp in the Romantic literature. Reinecke — then director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus — composed the work as a vehicle for Friederike Mayer, his star harp student, and the four movements trace Undine's journey from enchanted water world to human love and ultimately tragic fate. The opening Allegro agitato's turbulent figurations conjure the sea, while the Intermezzo's playful trickster spirit and the Romance's aching lyricism show the full expressive range Reinecke demands of the harpist. The finale's coda, where the harp fades away in hushed harmonics as if dissolving back into the water, is one of the most magically atmospheric passages in all harp music.