Oden und Lieder in fünf Bûchern, a collection of poems by prolific German poet Friedrich von Hagedorn (1708-1754), was published in Hamburg, Germany in 1747. The fifth volume contains the six verse poem Die Alster, the text of this choral work. The German language written and spoken in Hagedorn’s lifetime preceded today’s codified, standardized German, hence the poem’s apparent anomalies of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. This choral setting of Die Alster uses harmonic language typical of Hagedorn’s era. A rippling, undulating piano accompaniment underlies its cheerful melody.