In Search of a Lost Composition by Beethoven: The Equale in A-LId-49

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It is well known that in 1812 Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Three Equali for Four Trombones (WoO 30) for the Linz Cathedral Kapellmeister Franz Xaver Glöggl. A letter from Glöggl to Robert Schumann, however, suggests that the composer originally composed four pieces. An examination of the autograph score of WoO 30 (D-B, Mus.ms.autogr.Beethoven, L.v., Grasnick 9), held by the Staatsbibliothek Berlin, seems to confirm this: one page of the manuscript most likely became detached.

In 2018, an anonymous example of an equale turned up in the Diocesan Archives in Linz. Although the newly found manuscript (A-Lld-49) is not in Beethoven’s hand, comparison with additions written on the autograph of WoO 30 identifies it to be that of Glöggl. The Linz source is a working sketch of an arrangement for three vocal parts made from a four-part trombone movement. One possible scenario is that Glöggl, who is not otherwise known as a composer, used Beethoven’s presumed fourth equale for this purpose. This is indicated by aspects such as key relationships and the identical, unusual key designation of all the compositions in question. It is more likely, however, that the rediscovered piece—a simple chorale—belongs to an older class of repertoire.

The Three Equali WoO 30

[1] In the autumn of 1812, Ludwig van Beethoven composed short pieces for trombones for Franz Xaver Glöggl (1764–1839), the Linz Cathedral Kapellmeister. These compositions are known as the Three Equali for Four Trombones WoO 30, and their genesis and reception history has been dealt with already in scholarly articles.^[1] The sources of the Beethoven equali seem to be clear at first glance, since they have been preserved both as an autograph, now in the Staatsbibliothek Berlin,^[2] and in a contemporary copy, in the so-called Haslinger-Rudolfinische Sammlung of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna.^[3] In addition, there are known arrangements of the Equali nos. 1 and 3 by Ignaz von Seyfried (1776–1841) with Latin texts, which were performed at Beethoven’s funeral in 1827 and published in the same year by Tobias Haslinger (1787–1842).^[4] The Equale no. 2, finally, was sung with a poem by Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872) at Beethoven’s grave in November 1827 and was also published in 1829 by Tobias Haslinger.^[5]

A letter from the commissioner Franz Xaver Glöggl to Robert Schumann dated July 19, 1838, confirms the transmission history but contains an additional piece of information that is not insignificant:

He [Beethoven] wrote several funeral pieces on trombones for me as well, which I gave to my friend Haslinger in Vienna, one of which was performed at his funeral. He wrote them in my room, and I reserved one of them for myself alone.^[6]

Glöggl had apparently passed on the autograph of the equali to his former student and collaborator Tobias Haslinger, presumably to enable an integration of the pieces into his handwritten Beethoven opera omnia project.^[7] Not without pride, Haslinger was then able to explicitly refer to the source accessible to him in the first edition of Equali 1 and 3 as male choruses after the funeral and confirmed in the preface that he owned the autograph.^[8] However, Glöggl’s statement that he had reserved a funeral piece for himself makes one wonder. Might Beethoven have composed a fourth, now lost equale in Linz in 1812?

The analysis of the autograph of WoO 30 seems to confirm this scenario. As Howard Weiner already explained in 2002, the manuscript consists of three folios, with folios 1 and 3 forming a double folio into which folio 2 was inserted (now bound). Equali 1 to 3, however, appear only on folios 1 and 2; folio 3 remained unused.^[9] It can be stated that the three known equali would also have fit on a simple double folio and that folio 2 originally also consisted of a double folio from which one sheet was detached. Thus, either Beethoven actually wrote a fourth equale on the no longer extant second sheet of folio 2, or Glöggl removed the blank paper in order to use it for other purposes. In any case, the apparently blank folio 3 had the function of a cover, as evidenced by the fold lines clearly visible on all leaves. If the second sheet of folio 2 had been blank, it could have served this purpose just as well; however, the assumption that Beethoven set down a fourth equale on it is supported by the statement of the primary witness Glöggl.^[10]

In Search of the Fourth Equale

The indexing of the Upper Austrian music archives for Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM) in the course of a cataloging project at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2009–17 provided a starting point for the search for Beethoven’s presumed fourth equale.^[11] Indeed, a previously unknown copy of the extremely rare and locally limited musical genre equale was found in the historic Linz Cathedral Choir Archives in 2018.^[12] A simple four-part piece with the heading “Equal” appears at the end of a double leaf, neither paginated nor foliated, with an anonymous Liber scriptus for four voices (SATB) and four trombones (AATB), marked “Mottetto ad Funera,” with the RISM signature A-LId-49 (see figure 1).

This sheet evidently served originally as a cover for the Liber scriptus, as is clear from a comparison with similar materials in the Linz Cathedral Archives of the time and the old inventory number CCCCIX above the equale, as well as traces of folding. Another point in favor of the assumption that the movement was added later is that it is obviously a working sketch used to create a three-part arrangement of the text Parce mihi Domine from a four-part equale.^[13] This is made clear by the addition of “a3,” the almost consistently crossed-out notes in the second voice, and modifications in the first and third voices. The exact syllabic underlay of the added text is indicated by vertical lines above the first voice, making clear the intention to transform half notes into quarter notes. The four-part equale in the modern score and a reconstruction of the arrangement as Parce mihi Domine a3 can be seen in figures 2 and 3.

As with the motet Liber scriptus, there is no indication of the author, but a comparison of the handwriting indicates that the scribe of both pieces was Glöggl.^[14] As the director and organizer of Linz Cathedral music for many years, he was demonstrably responsible for its music archive, but the amateurish text underlay in Parce mihi Domine (e.g. mm. 13–14) and the open parallel fifth between the second and third voice in mm. 4–5 cast doubt on whether the cathedral Kapellmeister actually composed the pieces.^[15] The Linz cathedral organist Johann Baptist Schiedermayr (1779–1840), who is actually represented in the music archive as composer and arranger, is also ruled out for stylistic and scoring reasons.^[16]

The Equale in A-LId-49 and the Beethoven Autograph WoO 30

[2] Several indications point to written connections between the manuscript in A-LId-49 and the autograph of WoO 30. The most obvious is the almost identical inscription with the title “Equal” (see figures 4 and 5).

The description of the autograph of WoO 30 in RISM already specifies “by unknown hand,”^[17] but on the basis of the comparison of the handwriting, it may now be assumed with a high degree of probability that Glöggl was responsible for the additions on f. 1r (“Equal a 4 Tromboni [space] de v. Beethoven | Linz 2 9bri 1812”), which are not from Beethoven (see figure 4). Likewise, the scribe of the Latin numerals “CCCCIII” on f. 3v of the autograph can be identified with Glöggl (see figure 6).

As already explained, this otherwise blank sheet was used as a cover. The sheet with the Linz equale, in turn, shows the numbers CCCCIX (see figure 5) and was also originally used as a cover,^[18] which raises the suspicion that both manuscripts were originally inventoried by Glöggl. Further research in the historical Linz Cathedral archives revealed that there are still several works with old inventory designations beginning with CCCC—all presumably numbered by Glöggl. If one understands the numbers as numerus currens under the heading CCCC, it is noticeable that the first numbers of this inventory section are still largely present and that the Berlin Beethoven autograph of WoO 30 undoubtedly belongs to it. These are probably the fragments of the repertoire for funeral processions in Linz around 1820 (see table 1).

This can be confirmed by Glöggl’s remarks in his Kirchenmusik-Ordnung of 1828. One reads there about funeral processions:

The funeral ceremonies (Conducten) are held differently according to the custom established in each place … . In the first class, on the arrival of the clergy, a short piece of funeral music (Equale) with trombones or other wind instruments gives the signal for the spiritual mourning ceremony for those present, after which the funeral procession starts to move, which is again indicated by the wind instruments, with which the choral music, singing a three- or four-part Miserere, then alternates during the procession until the entrance to the church or burial place, where the verse Requiem aeternam is sung before the benediction is given. After the blessing and the general prayer, a funeral motet is sung.

In the second class, if wind instruments have been ordered, the sign for the funeral ceremony is also given with them; during the funeral procession, however, only the Miserere, accompanied by the wind instruments, takes place in sections up to the grave or to the church, where again the verse Requiem is sung.

In the third class, the Miserere is to be sung during the procession.

At the funerals of children who have not yet received the holy sacrament of the altar, the psalm Laudate Pueri or a decent German hymn is sung instead of the Miserere.^[19]

A comparison shows that the information from the Kirchenmusik-Ordnung is reflected in the remains of the old Linz funeral repertoire. Thus, both the Miserere and the equale mentioned by Glöggl can be found in it, as well as several pieces of music recognizable as funeral motets through the text and partly through the designation “Motetto ad funera.” Two Laudate Pueri, which were apparently used for children’s funerals, have also survived. The versicle Requiem aeternam was probably sung in unison from a prayer book and therefore does not appear.^[20] According to Glöggl, the instrumental equale and the vocal Miserere were performed alternately, and indeed only among the funeral motets are pieces with the combination of choir and trombones found. That these were only performed at first-class funerals is confirmed by the heading to Liber scriptus A-LId-50, “Mottetto ad funera soleniora” (motet for solemn funerals). Most of the surviving pieces in the reconstructed inventory are for four voices, although Glöggl explicitly speaks of a three- or four-part Miserere in the Kirchenmusik-Ordnung (see quotation above). At least one three-part variant may therefore be assumed under the inventory numbers CCCCI, CCCCII, or CCCCIV, which no longer exist today. In addition, other four-part equali as well as equali a3 could have been among the inventory numbers in question. The reworking of the anonymous four-part equale in A-LId-49 into a three-part funeral motet, however, does not speak in favor of three-part versions—Glöggl would probably have preferred to text an already existing three-part equale instead of making a cumbersome arrangement. However, the process shows that three-part pieces were also used, probably for pragmatic reasons.^[21]

One further observation on the fragmentary inventory and the partially reconstructable Linz funeral music repertoire should be mentioned: almost all of the pieces have survived in scores. It may be assumed that performance material was prepared in partbooks for daily use on the basis of the scores. The preserved repertoire and the reconstructed inventory, which incidentally also contains autographs by Schiedermayr and Hoffmeister in addition to the Beethoven equali, should therefore probably be understood as a collection and as a backup for the performance material.

Beethoven or not Beethoven?

[3] The crucial question now is whether the rediscovered Linz equale is Beethoven’s lost fourth. At first glance, the answer is clearly no. Stylistically, a comparison of the Three Equali WoO 30 with the new copy reveals no similarities whatsoever. The piece in A-LId-49 is a simple chorale movement in the style of the eighteenth century, whereas Beethoven’s equali contain polyphonic techniques, chromaticism, and modulations. However, some observations can be made to make Beethoven’s authorship seem at least possible.

All three known equali are set in a different key. Equale no. 1 is in D minor but is led at the end to D major, the key of the second equale. There are no explicit contemporary statements about the tonal character of D minor in church music, but Glöggl, referring to Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, describes D major in his Kirchenmusik-Ordnung as the “tone of triumph, of hallelujah” (“Ton des Triumphes, des Halleluja”).^[22] According to Glöggl, the key of the third equale, Bb major, contains “cheerful love, good conscience, hope” (“heitere Liebe, gutes Gewissen, Hoffnung”)^[23]—both thus seem to correspond perfectly to the consolatory-sacred occasion of funeral processions. As is well known, some of Beethoven’s works can also be associated with the theory of key characteristics.^[24] It would therefore fit very well into the key design if the presumed fourth equale were equivalent to the anonymous Linz piece in E-flat major, according to Glöggl “the tone of devotion, of mournful conversation with God, expressing through its three B-flats the sacred triad.”^[25] The most striking similarity between the Linz equale and WoO 30, however, lies in the clefs. Usually, trombone parts are notated in alto, tenor, and bass clefs according to their respective registers. In the anonymous equale, however, the second trombone part in the tenor register is notated in alto clef like the first part. The identical, unusual clef notation is also found in Beethoven’s autograph of WoO 30. The ranges of voices one to three are also similar in all four pieces. In contrast, however, it must be noted that the bass part of the anonymous equale has a lower range (E flat2–G3) than the corresponding part in the three Beethoven pieces (G2–D4).

Howard Weiner and David Guion have already noted in their analysis of the Equali WoO 30 that the successive pieces seem to slacken in both length and compositional elaboration.^[26] If the first equale still numbers 50 measures or 100 half notes and, in addition to the movement designation “Andante,” gives precise dynamic and performance instructions, the second equale (“Poco Adagio”) is considerably shorter at 38 measures or 76 half notes and only has “dolce” as a performance designation in the first measure. In the third movement, “Poco sostenuto,” which is extremely abbreviated at 16 measures in 3/2 time and 48 half notes, there are no further performance indications at all. Beethoven’s declining motivation during the creative process is also clearly evident in the autograph. From the first page (41m.; 7–9m./line) to the fourth page (16m.; 3–4m./line), the notation becomes continuously more restless and hectic, as if Beethoven wanted to finish the commission quickly. The simplicity of the anonymous equale—at 20 measures or 40 half notes also the shortest of the four—could thus well be seen as a continuation of the decreasing complexity of the three known pieces.

In this context, the provenance of the source is probably significant. As we know, Tobias Haslinger acquired the autograph directly from Glöggl, obviously in order to be able to integrate the compositions into his Beethoven opera omnia project. All the pieces in the Haslinger-Rudolfinische Sammlung were personally authorized, as evidenced by an enclosed declaration by the composer:

That all the pieces contained in this complete collection of my tonal works, organized by Mr. Tobias Haslinger, are composed by me, I confirm truthfully by signing this certificate with my hand and name. Ludwig van Beethoven m.[anu] p.[ropria].^[27]

Could this be an explanation for the strange process of Glöggl’s presumed retention of the fourth equale? If Beethoven really had written a compositionally primitive piece analogous to the anonymous Linz equale on the second leaf of folio 2 in the autograph of WoO 30, it would certainly not have been included in the collection he authorized. It is possible, however, that when the manuscript was handed over to Haslinger, a fourth, meaningless equale was detached and returned to Glöggl.

Conclusion

Although there is some evidence for it, according to the current state of research it is not certain that Beethoven actually composed a fourth equale in 1812. On the basis of comparative analyses, the identification of the presumably lost piece with the anonymous equale in A-LId-49 seems unlikely. Rather, it could be a specimen of an older, as yet undocumented layer of repertoire.^[28] Until a concordance of the notorious piece appears, however, the findings presented here suggest that Beethoven’s authorship should also be considered.^[29] After all, new philological findings could be made with regard to the autograph of WoO 30: It is almost certain that the additions to the manuscript that do not originate from Beethoven—and thus also the genre designation as equale—originate from Franz Xaver Glöggl.

References

1. Othmar Wessely, “Zur Geschichte des Equals,” in Beethoven-Studien: Festgabe der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zum 200. Geburtstag von Ludwig van Beethoven, ed. Erich Schenk, Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Musikforschung 11 / Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Klasse 270 (Vienna: Böhlau, 1970), 341–60; and Howard Weiner, “Beethoven’s Equali (WoO 30): A New Perspective,” Historic Brass Society Journal 14 (2002): 215–77. ↑

2. D-B, Mus.ms.autogr.Beethoven, L.v., Grasnick 9. ↑

3. Ludwig van Beethoven’s & sämmtliche Werke gesammelt von Tobias Haslinger, A-Wgm, XVII 67000, vol. 37. ↑

4. Ignaz von Seyfried, arr., Trauer-Gesang bey Beethoven’s Leichenbegängnisse (Vienna: Tobias Haslinger, 1827). ↑

5. Trauerklänge bei Beethoven’s Grabe: Vierstimmiger Männer-Chor nach einer Original-Melodie des Verewigten; die Worte von Franz Grillparzer (Vienna: Tobias Haslinger, 1829). For the performances of the equali after Beethoven’s death, see Weiner, “Beethoven’s Equali,” 238–46. ↑

6. Wolfgang Bötticher, “Neue Materialien zu Robert Schumanns Wiener Bekanntenkreis,” Studien zur Musikwissenschaft 25 (1962): 42. Original wording: “Er [Beethoven] schrieb auch für mich einige Trauerstücke auf Posaunen, wovon ich meinem Freund Haslinger in Wien gab, deren eines bey seiner Leiche vorgetragen wurde. Er schrieb sie in meinem Zimmer, wovon ich eines für mich allein vorbehielt.” Unless indicated otherwise, all translations are my own. ↑

7. On Haslinger, see Othmar Wessely, s.v. “Haslinger, Tobias,” Neue Deutsche Biographie 8 (1969). ↑

8. Seyfried, Trauer-Gesang: “Arranged ... from Beethoven’s manuscript” (“Aus Beethoven’s Manuscripte … eingerichtet”); preface: “the present publisher was later so happy to be able to enrich his collection, which had become invaluable to him through several autographs of the great composer, with this manuscript [WoO 30] as well” (“der gegenwärtige Verleger war später so glücklich, seine durch mehrere Autographen des grossen Tonsetzers ihm unschätzbar gewordene Sammlung auch mit dieser Handschrift [WoO 30] bereichern zu können”). ↑

9. Weiner, “Beethoven’s Equali,” 233–34. ↑

10. In addition to Howard Weiner, Othmar Wessely also speculated about the existence of a fourth equale by Beethoven. However, on the basis of an anecdote by Glöggl’s son Franz Glöggl (1796–1872), which he wrote down shortly before his death, Wessely assumes that the lost piece must have had a different instrumentation. Glöggl junior reports that his father had asked the composer to write an equale for six trombones, since he still had a soprano and a bass trombone in his collection of old musical instruments that were no longer in use. Cf. Wessely, “Geschichte des Equals,” 344–45. In fact, Glöggl’s musical instrument inventory from 1824 contains a total of seven trombones, and the two discarded trombones from Linz mentioned by Glöggl junior were purchased by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna that year; however, it is unlikely that the anecdote was truthfully reported 60 years after the event. Glöggl junior’s report is implausible above all because he speaks of only one piece, although the autograph source includes (at least) three equali. ↑

11. See the project description, accessed October 14, 2021. ↑

12. Apart from the Three Equali WoO 30 by Beethoven, for a long time only six pieces with the same designation by Wenzel Lambel (1788–1861) and two by Anton Bruckner (WAB 114 and 149) were known. Recently, however, in addition to the Linz copy described here, another equale by Adolph Müller (1801–86) was found in a Viennese library. Cf. Thomas Aigner, “Ein Aequale von Adolf Müller sen.,” Mitteilungen des Anton Bruckner Instituts Linz 19 (2017): 10–14. ↑

13. A melodic fragment in tenor clef at the bottom of the page also speaks in favor of the sketch character. ↑

14. Documents signed by Glöggl, such as inventories and letters, were used for the manuscript comparison. ↑

15. Glöggl has not yet been documented as a composer in any other way either. ↑

16. A manuscript comparison of Schiedermayr’s signed autograph of a Laudate pueri (A-LId-44) and his arrangement of a Miserere by Hoffmeister (A-LId-45) also confirms his authorship for a motet entitled Quantus tremor (A-LId-48) from the Linz Cathedral Archives (see table 1). Both the Laudate pueri and the Quantus tremor are stylistically very different from the equale in A-LId-49 (for example chromaticism and diminished chords in Laudate pueri and Quantus tremor versus much simpler harmonic progressions in the equale), and above all the use of the clefs of the four trombones in the Quantus tremor (ATTB) is strikingly different from the clefs in the equale in A-LId-49 (AATB). On the clefs of the equale, see also below in the main text. ↑

17. See the source description in RISM online, Beethoven Equali, D-B, Mus.ms.autogr. Beethoven, L. v., Grasnick 9, ID no.: 464000286. ↑

18. The sheet shows characteristic traces of folding. ↑

19. Franz Xaver Glöggl, Kirchenmusik-Ordnung: Erklärendes Handbuch des musikalischen Gottesdienstes für Kapellmeister, Regenschori, Sänger und Tonkünstler; Anleitung, wie die Kirchenmusik nach Vorschrift der Kirche und des Staates gehalten werden soll (Vienna: Wallishausser, 1828), 19–22. Original wording: “Die Leichenbegängnisse (Conducten) werden nach der in jedem Orte eingeführten Gewohnheit verschieden gehalten … . In der ersten Klasse wird bei Ankunft der Geistlichkeit durch eine kurze Trauermusik (Equal) mit Posaunen oder andern Blasinstrumenten das Zeichen zur geistlichen Trauerhandlung für die Anwesenden gegeben, nach deren Vollendung sich der Leichenzug in Bewegung setzet, welches wieder mittelst der blasenden Trauermusik angezeigt wird, mit welcher dann während des Zuges die Gesangmusik, die ein drei- oder vierstimmiges Misserere singet, abwechselt bis zum Eingange der Kirche oder Grabstätte, wo vor der Einsegnung der Vers.: Requiem aeternam, gesungen wird. Nach erfolgter Einsegnung und dem allgemeinen Gebet wird eine Trauer-Motette gesungen. In der zweiten Klasse, wenn Blasinstrumente dazu bestellt sind, wird ebenfalls damit das Zeichen zur Trauerhandlung gegeben; während dem Leichenzuge aber hat nur das Misserere, mit Begleitung der Blasinstrumente, in Absätzen bis zum Grabe oder zur Kirche Statt, wo wieder der Vers.: Requiem, gesungen wird. In der dritten Klasse ist das Misserere während dem Zuge zu singen. Bei den Leichen der Kinder, welche das h. Sacrament des Altars noch nicht empfangen haben, wird statt des Miserere der Psalm: Laudate Pueri, oder ein deutsches anständiges Lied gesungen.” ↑

20. Glöggl, Kirchenmusik-Ordnung, 26, writes “the certain versicle of the feast [is] intoned according to the breviary” (“der bestimmte Versikel von dem Feste [wird] angestimmt nach dem Brevier”). ↑

21. A total of five three-part equali written later by Lambel and Bruckner have survived. ↑

22. Glöggl, Kirchenmusik-Ordnung, 8. Glöggl clearly refers in this and the following key characteristics to Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, Ideen zu einer Ästhetik der Tonkunst (Vienna: Degen, 1806), 377–80. ↑

23. Glöggl, Kirchenmusik-Ordnung, 8. ↑

24. A well-known example is the composer’s entry “B minor black key” (“h moll schwarze Tonart”) in sketches to the Cello Sonata op. 102, no. 2 from the year 1815. Cf. Leo Treitler, Music and the Historical Imagination (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989), 65. On key characteristics in general, see Rita Steblin’s standard work on the subject: Rita Steblin, A History of Key Characteristics in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, Studies in Musicology 67 (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1983). On key characteristics in Beethoven’s works, see for example, Bruce Edward Clausen, Beethoven and the Psyches of the Keys (PhD diss., University of Southern California, 1988); and Michael C. Tusa, “Beethoven’s C-Minor Mood: Some Thoughts on the Structural Implications of Key Choice,” Beethoven Forum 2, no. 1 (1993): 1–27. More recent studies on the topic include Dimitri Papadimitriou, An exploration of the key characteristics in Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas and selected instrumental repertoire (PhD diss., Trinity College Dublin, 2013); John D. Wilson, “Of Hunting, Horns, and Heroes: A Brief History of Eb Major before the Eroica,” Journal of Musicological Research 32 (2013), 163–82; and Paul M. Ellison, The Key to Beethoven: Connecting Tonality and Meaning in his Music, North American Beethoven Series 7 (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2014). See also the anecdotal remarks on Beethoven’s associations with key characteristics in Anton Schindler, Biographie von Ludwig van Beethoven (Münster: Aschendorff, 1860), 2:166–68. ↑

25. Glöggl, Kirchenmusik-Ordnung, 8. Original wording: “der Ton der Andacht, des traulichen Gespräches mit Gott, durch seine 3 b die heilige Trias ausdrückend.” ↑

26. Weiner, “Beethoven’s Equali,” 234; and David M. Guion, The Trombone: Its History and Music, 1697–1811 (New York: Gordon and Breach, 1988), 282–83.
 ↑

27. Alexander Weinmann, “Tobias Haslingers Gesamtausgabe der Werke Beethovens,” in Beiträge zur Beethoven-Bibliographie: Studien und Materialien zum Werkverzeichnis von Kinsky-Halm, ed. Kurt Dorfmüller and Georg Kinsky (Munich: Henle, 1978), 270. Original wording: “Daß sämmtliche, in dieser von Herrn Tobias Haslinger veranstalteten vollständigen Sammlung meiner Tonwerke, enthaltenen Stücke, von mir componirt sind, bestätige ich der Wahrheit angemessen, indem ich diese Beglaubigung eigenhändig mit meiner Nahmens-Fertigung unterzeichne. Ludwig van Beethoven m.[anu] p.[ropria].” ↑

28. That equali already existed in Linz before Beethoven’s compositions is obvious and is confirmed by the following account of the creation of the pieces by Franz Xaver Glöggl’s son Franz: “My father approached Beethoven to write him an equale for 6 trombones … . However, Beethoven wished to hear an equale like those blown at the funerals in Linz: so it happened that my father ordered three trombonists one afternoon, since Beethoven was dining with us anyway, and had such an equale blown.” Original wording: “Mein Vater sprach Beethoven an, ihm ein Aequal für 6 Posaunen zu schreiben … . Beethoven wünschte aber ein Aequal, wie es in Linz bei den Leichen geblasen wird, zu hören: so geschah es, daß mein Vater an einem Nachmittag 3 Posaunisten bestellte, da Beethoven ohnehin bei uns speiste, und ein solches Aequal blasen ließ.” Alexander Wheelock Thayer, Ludwig van Beethovens Leben: Nach dem Original-manuskript deutsch bearbeitet von Hermann Deiters, vol. 3, Mit Benutzung von hinterlassenen Materialien des Verfassers neu bearbeitet und ergänzt von Hugo Riemann (repr., Hildesheim: Olms, 1971), 342. See also note 10. ↑

29. Numerous collections of four-part chorales as well as one-part song melodies from the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century have so far been examined without any results for concordances with the equale in A-LId-49. However, due to the abundance of relevant material, it cannot be ruled out that such will emerge in the future. ↑

Cover picture: Ludwig van Beethoven’s funeral procession in front of the former Schwarzspanierkloster in Vienna (watercolor painting by Franz Xaver Stöber, 1827); by courtesy of Beethoven-Haus Bonn.