WoO 180 “Hofmann, Hofmann” – Canon
The musical examples on this page are by Graziano Denini.
By Graziano Denini
WoO 180 “Hofmann, Hofmann”, canon, mid-March 1820, first published in the Gazzetta Caecilia of the Schott publishing house in Mainz (April 1825). GA no. 265/8 (series 23, p. 189) – Bruers 212 – KH (WoO) 180. Nottebhom, pp. 162 and 169; Thayer 223.
The words of this canon play—according to one of Beethoven’s usual habits—on the near-identity (except for one missing f) of the surname of the poet, writer and musician Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (whose keen observations on Coriolan, on the Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 1, on the Mass in C, and on the Fifth Symphony are well known) and the word Hofmann (courtier). The same play on words appears several times in the conversation books.
This canon is not included among those catalogued by W. Hess, but it is listed in G. Biamonti’s catalogue as No. 724.
The manuscript forms part of a Taschenbuch, one of those small notebooks Beethoven carried around with him to jot down melodies when he was away from home. It is designated BH 107 and is now held in the library of the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.
Julia Ronge, in her commentary on this canon, informs us that: “This single sketch leaf comes from the pocket-book ‘BH 107’, kept at the Beethoven-Haus; as in the rest of Notebook 107, this leaf also contains sketches for the Missa solemnis (the ‘Credo’), but only on the recto. On the verso a canon was written, which we have assigned the number WoO 180: ‘Hoffman, Hofmann’. The canon, first drafted in pencil and then partially copied in ink, was probably written in connection with a conversation about the poet E.T.A. Hoffmann, which seems to have inspired Beethoven to a wordplay. Since the sketch leaf does not come from the legacy of Robert Mendelssohn, who donated the sketchbook BH 107 to the Beethoven-Haus in 1899, it was probably removed from the book before it came into the possession of the Mendelssohn family. It cannot be ruled out that Beethoven himself took the leaf from the sketchbook even before tracing the canon in ink.” (J.R.)
In the same Taschenbuch we also find the canons Hess 256 Sankt Petrus in der Fels, Hess 300 Liebe mich werter Weissenbach, Hess 301 Wähner es ist kein Wahn, as well as sketches for the Piano Sonata Op. 109.
Official title: WoO 180 Hoffmann, sei ja kein Hofmann Kanon (C-dur) nach einem eigenen Text Widmung: „Auf einen, welcher Hoffmann geheißen“ NGAXII/2 AGA 256/8 = Serie 23/S. 189
Origin and publication: Written in March 1820. The original edition appeared in 1825 in the journal Caecilia in Mainz (see the page header). Beethoven sketched the canon in a conversation book (see photo) during a discussion of 15 March 1820 (BKh 1 p. 319). On 22 January 1825 Beethoven sent the two canons WoO 180 and 187 to the Schott publishing house in Mainz for publication, together with a “humoristisch-romantischen Lebensbeschreibung des hiesigen Tobias Hasslinger geschrieben, welche, in drei Theilen, nächstens erscheinen soll” (followed by a detailed synopsis). Schott, presumably without Beethoven’s knowledge, published this humorous “Lebensbeschreibung” together with the two canons in Caecilia in a slightly altered form.
Text: In a conversation with Adam Neberich around 10 March 1820, in which E.T.A. Hoffmann is mentioned, Beethoven jotted down the line “Hofmann – Du bist kein Hof-Mann –” (BKh 1 p. 318). The sketch completed in Konversationsheft 9 has a rather unflattering text, “nein nein ich bin kein Hofmann sondern heiße Hofmann” and “u bin kein Hofma[nn] sondern ein Elen [der] schuft”. In the end Beethoven omitted the final half-sentence.
In the final form, Beethoven wrote out the words of the text again, with the stress markings (long or short), in Konversationsheft 10, fols. 46r and 49v (BKh 1 pp. 390 and 392).
Dedication: Because of Beethoven’s imprecise dedication, the intended addressee cannot be clearly identified. The fact that Beethoven first noted the opening of the canon’s text in a conversation with Adam Neberich about Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776–1822) suggests an attribution to the writer and composer. Hans Kuznitzky supports the hypothesis that Beethoven is referring to E.T.A. Hoffmann’s activities as a member of the “Immediatkommission zur Ermittlung hochverräterischer Verbindungen und anderer gefährlicher Umtriebe” (Kuznitzky/Hoffmann2). Another interpretation goes back to Gustav Nottebohm: “Nottebohm erfuhr von Groß, dessen Vater das Autograph besessen hatte, der Kanon sei im Matschaker Hof … geschrieben, und beziehe sich auf einen Komponisten von Kirchenmusik und Regens chori Hofmann, der … Vincenz geheißen habe.” (TDR IV pp. 199f.) Nottebohm gives the name in his list as Joachim Hoffmann (Nottebohm/1868 p. 162; the name, however, may be incorrect, as according to Unger/Hoffmann no Vincenz Hofmann can be identified in that position). Max Unger rightly questions the authenticity of the episode (Unger/Hoffmann p. 1207).
In an unspecified and fragmentary newspaper article appears a “‘Hofmann, Hofmann, sei ja kein Hofmann …’. Gedenkblatt für den Dürrhennersdorfer Musiker, Freund Beethovens und Goethes” (D-BNba, Z 368/88). Joachim Huth believes this refers to the music teacher and composer Karl Eduard Hofmann (1792–1860) and bases this on the fact that Beethoven always wrote Hofman and not Hoffmann (see BKh 1 pp. 390 and 392). However, this argument is relatively weak, as Beethoven’s spelling of proper names is often inconsistent. Unger refrains entirely from attributing it to a specific person. In his view, the canon originated from an association with the name of E.T.A. Hoffmann, but is ultimately not intended specifically for him; rather, it is “a confession from Beethoven’s freedom-loving heart” (Unger/Hoffmann p. 1207).
Sketches: (1) D-BNba, Coll. H. C. Bodmer, HCB BSk 27, fol. 1 verso (2) D-B, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven 51.8, fol. 37 verso, Konversationsheft 9. Date: 15 March 1820.
