WoO 183 – “Bester Herr Graf, Sie sind ein Schaf”, Canon | Beethoven Music Research Center www.lvbeethoven.org

WoO 183 Bester Herr Graf, Sie sind ein Schaf, Canon

The musical examples on this page are by Graziano Denini.

WoO 183 – “Bester Herr Graf, Sie sind ein Schaf,” Canon for Count Moritz Lichnowsky, 20 February 1823, published in facsimile as an appendix to the tenth volume of the Mus. Krit. Repertorium aller neuen Erscheinungen im Gebiete der Tonkunst (Critical Musical Repertory of All New Publications in the Field of Music), Leipzig, 1844; printed by Kalischer and in score by M.A.L.; more recently by W. Hess in the fifth volume of the Supplemente zur G.A., 1962. H. 261 – B. 327 – KH. (WoO)183 – T. 248.

Official title: WoO 183 Bester Herr Graf, Sie sind ein Schaf! Kanon (F-dur) nach einem eigenen Text Widmung: NGAXII/2 AGA-SBG V/41 (2. Auflage: 42; Hess 261)

The original manuscript is held in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. This unflattering canon is said to have been addressed by Beethoven, according to Schindler, to his friend Count Moritz Lichnowsky, who, during an editorial negotiation, had recommended accepting the proposals from the publishers Steiner and Haslinger, thereby causing the composer’s displeasure. It is written here for four voices, in unison.

Schindler’s comment at the bottom of the page: “Geschrieben den 20t. Febr. 1823 im Kaffeehaus zur Birn auf der Landstraße.” [“Written on 20th February 1823 at the Birn café on the country road.”]

Origin and publication: According to the note by Anton Schindler on the autograph, dated 20 February 1823 (the year 1823 is overwritten with 1824), it is doubtful that the 1823 date is actually correct. The first edition likely appeared posthumously in 1907 in Alexander W. Thayer’s biography of Beethoven, but a facsimile of the autograph transcription was already published in 1844 in the Musikalisch-kritischem Repertorium aller neuen Erscheinungen im Gebiete der Tonkunst by Hirschbach. According to Schindler, the text of the canon refers to Moritz Graf von Lichnowsky, who sided with Steiner in the disputes between Beethoven and the publisher, thus causing Beethoven’s displeasure. In the Musikalisch-kritischem Repertorium (1844) by Hermann Hirschbach, Schindler published it under the title “Beethoven’sche Memorabilien”; “Beethoven made a four-voice canon on Lichnowsky with the words: »Bester Herr Graf, Sie sind ein Schaf to take revenge on him. He did not keep this rather untimely joke a secret, but he laid the blame for its becoming known on me, as I had taken the sheet from his hands to prevent misuse and discord, and have kept it in my portfolio to this day” (Schindler/Memorabilien p. 468). Schindler introduced the reproduction of Beethoven’s transcription as follows: “Since the reason for keeping this canon hidden for longer prevails, it may be attached to the Repertory as a curiosity in facsimile” (Schindler/Memorabilien p. 468). An entry by Beethoven’s nephew Karl in a conversation book presents this story in a different light: *”Schindler had [cancelled: ihm – him] at that time torn the canon from the Count and not returned it” (BKh 7 p. 99; around 23 January 1825). The editors of the Konversationshefte suspect that Karl’s word “him” was deleted by Schindler himself and they question the previously assumed origin date of the canon “20 February 1823”, “since Schindler’s original note on the autograph said ‘1824’, and it was changed to ‘1823’ in a subsequent overwriting” (BKh 7 p. 374f note 246). Autograph: D-B, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven 35/35. Dating “20 £ February 823” (but see Origin and Edition). The parts are named each in different clefs according to their insertion order in the staff. Title: Folio 1 recto, title by Anton Schindler “Canon on Graf Lichnowsky”, at the bottom also by Schindler „geschrieben den 20 Febr. 823 / im Kaffeehause zur Bim auf der Land- / Straße” (written on 20th February 823 / at the Birn café on the country road). One sheet; text on recto, blank on verso. Paper: 16 x 23 cm, 5 lines. Provenance: Anton Schindler. – August Nowotny. — Acquired in 1880.

WoO 183 Vierstimmiger Kanon Bester herr Graf sie sin ein Schaf!

The manuscript is held in Berlin at the Staatsbibliothek, Autograph 35/35, sheet 1. Klein describes it as follows: “Anton Schindler, Beethovens Factotum, hat diesen Kanon, der sich in seinem Nachlaß fand, überschrieben : “Canon auf Graf Lichnowsky” und darunter: “Geschrieben den 20t. Febr. 1823 im Kaffeehaus zur Birn auf der Landstraße.” Die von Beethoven frequentierte Gaststätte stand an der Landstraßer Haupstraße auf der Höhe des heutigen Hauses No. 31.
Nach einer Mitteilung Schindlers aus dem Jahre 1844 ist der Kanon damals als Unmutsäußerung über den Grafen geschrieben worden, der die Annahme von – für Beethoven angeblich ungüstigen – Vorschlägen der Verleger Steiner und Haslinger empfohlen habe. Die vier Teile des Kanons sind im Original (mit wechselnden Schlüßeln) hintereinander notiert (in der Reihenfolge der Stimmeinsaetze 1-2-3-4)…” This last phrase is somewhat mysterious since all the voices are written in Baritone Clef. Biamonti lists it in his catalog as number 769, while Hess assigns it number 261. J. Green informs us that: “The Canon is inadvertently listed twice in the previous third edition of the Hess catalog, at numbers 199 and 244.” I agree with Green in noting that all previous versions are incorrect, including that of Misch, which he considers correct, and so I have rewritten the Canon with Beethoven’s actual notes: in the second voice, in all editions, the natural sign for B is missing, even though Beethoven clearly writes it; in the third voice, in the second half of the first measure, all versions show a C, but Beethoven actually writes G (below the note there is a symbol that could be a “c”, but I have kept the correct note); in the fourth voice, in the second half of the first measure, Beethoven writes both C and E, but in this case, I agree with the other versions in keeping the C (if we were to use the E, Beethoven would have created parallel fifths with the second voice). The version easiest to sing, given the melody’s range, should be that of a “overlapping” Canon, where each voice repeats the same two measures, and the Canon forms as the new measures enter; for me, the order of voice entries should be 2-4-1-3.

Schindler’s comment at the bottom of the sheet: “Geschrieben den 20t. Febr. 1823 im Kaffeehaus zur Birn auf der Landstraße.”

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