Sonata in E minor (Undine) Op.167

Allegro

Intermezzzo: allegretto vivace – più lento, quasi andante – allegretto vivace

Andante tranquillo – molto vivace – tempo I

Finale: allegro molto agitato ed appassionato, quasi presto – più lento

Large-scale romantic flute-and-piano sonatas are rare. The flute was much favoured by 18th-century composers – with the not insignificant exception of Mozart, that is – but for the romantic generation its sound was considered too slender for their expressive purposes. And, in comparison with that of the clarinet, it certainly was. Boehm’s comprehensive redesign of the instrument, however, and developments in technique by such exceptionally gifted flautists as Paul Taffanel (see below) meant that the capabilities of the flute had been considerably extended long before the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately, apart from a few specialists, it wasn’t until well into the 20th century that composers began to realise the solo potential of the modern flute. So in this respect if in no other – he was a teacher at the notoriously old-fashioned Leipzig Conservatory and successor to Mendelssohn as conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra – Carl Reinecke was ahead of his time.

Far from being some kind of neo-classical pastiche, Reinecke’s Flute Sonata in E minor, which was written as early as 1882, is so thoroughly romantic that it is based, to some extent at least, on a story similar to that of Dvorák’s opera Rusalka. As the subtitle Undine suggests, the source of the programme behind it is Friedrich de la Motte Fouquée’s tale about Undine, a water nymph who, to acquire the soul denied to creatures of her kind, marries a human, only to be abandoned by him in the end. While it might be useful to bear that story in mind, it would be more rewarding to concentrate on the music, which is far more convincing in itself than any of the efforts that have been made to associate events in the sonata with events in the story. The first movement, for example, although it is said to depict Undine’s “undersea world,” is an almost text-book example of sonata form based on two contrasting melodic ideas – the fluid E minor arpeggios presented as the main theme by the flute in the opening bars and the expressive chromatic melody introduced in a higher register by the same instrument.

The second movement, headed Intermezzo, is said to represent “life on land.” An Allegretto vivace scherzo in B minor it is animated by much staccato elfin activity and encloses a lyrically melodious Più lento, quasi andante middle section in B major featuring the flute’s lower register. At least with the third movement the programmatic interpretation – “Undine’s expression of love for Hulbrand, the human with whom she falls in love” – makes sense: the Schumannesque Andante tranquillo outer sections, if not the Molto vivace middle section, is clearly an amorous confession. On the other hand it is difficult to believe that the last movement is about “Undine’s grief when Hubrand turns his back on her.” Certainly it is a passionately melodious inspiration but its whole tendency is to move from the turbulent E minor in which it begins to the quietly idyllic E major in the closing section – which, in musical terms, means a happy ending.

Incidentally, for all his confidence in the flute Reinecke issued alternative versions of the Sonata for violin and clarinet, including for them one passage which is out of the range of the flute. He did, however, write a concerto for flute in 1903.