Louis Spohr won an enormous reputation during the nineteenth century as a composer, violin virtuoso, conductor and teacher. At the age of twenty-one, he was appointed music director at the court of Gotha. There he met and fell in love with Dorette Scheidler, a brilliant harpist. In pursuing his courtship, Spohr composed a Sonata for violin and harp as an alibi for their rendezvous. After they married, Spohr studied the harp and composed more works for the instrument. The Sonata in G major is the longest and finest of the duo sonatas, while the Sonata in D major contains melodies from Mozart’s Magic Flute in its second movement. The oratorio Des Heilands letzte Stunden was written when Dorete was terminally ill. In Mary’s aria, sung to Christ on the Cross, he makes use of the solo violin and harp, symbols of his happy years with Dorette.