A musical fairy tale. The title was likely inspired by the countless piano pieces written since Mendelssohn, known as “Songs without Words” (Lieder ohne Worte). The Brothers Grimm published their compilation of folk tales in 1812, and thereafter, the “Märchen” (fairy tale) genre, as a distinctly national genre, inspired German musicians throughout the 19th century. A representative work based on the Märchen theme is Humperdinck’s fairy tale opera Hänsel und Gretel (1893). The trend of incorporating fairy-tale elements such as forests, fairies, witches, dwarves, will-o’-the-wisps, and the mysteries of nature into musical works was not limited to Germany; a type of fairy-tale-like music with clear, urban elegance was also composed in major cities like Paris. However, Reinecke’s Märchen likely embodies the very image of fairy tales held by Germans of that era, depicting an otherworldly realm through diverse styles and performance techniques. Dedicated to the Princess of Romania.