Connected to manuscript Artaria 166a there exists another one – Artaria 166b – where we find the same Italian a cappella songs, some written by Beethoven, others by Alexander Cornet and by Baron Carl Doblhof‑Dier, during the lessons with Salieri, to which a piano accompaniment has been added. Artaria 166b is also in Berlin in the State Library.

Leafing through the notebook, one of the things that immediately stands out is that we find two different numberings: one that follows the numbering of the leaves [from 1 to 43 with the repetition of leaves 36–37] and a second with the numbering of the pages [from 1 to 90 (page 1 corresponds to the title page of the volume) with pages 81 to 90 inserted between pages 4 and 5].

Other catalogings are found at the beginning of each piece; in these numberings we find references to the Thayer catalogue and to the old WoO numbering; in addition to these we have a cataloging that uses the letters of the alphabet.

The piano accompaniments mentioned also in the Thayer catalogue are not by Beethoven, but by the Kapellmeister Benedikt Randhartinger (1802–1893), who was also, together with F. Schubert, a pupil of Salieri; these scores, according to what is stated by the State Library, should be dated around 1820 and are therefore studies made by the eighteen‑year‑old Randhartinger as preparation for the lessons with Salieri.

In what way could Randhartinger, about 20 years after Beethoven’s studies, have copied the songs? The only sources that have come down to us concerning the Beethovenian songs are the “rough draft” manuscripts of Artaria 166a and the various single sheets found in Vienna and Stockholm – and which, as we have seen from the analysis of these manuscripts, are those corrected by Salieri.

Did Randhartinger ask Beethoven directly to view his sketches? Or was he able to copy them from some other “fair copies” in Salieri’s possession? In this case, why did Randhartinger not transcribe songs by other composer‑students of Salieri but only those included in Artaria 166a? And then why does he sometimes write both the wrong part and the correct one? Did Beethoven and Randhartinger know each other? Or did someone intercede with Beethoven so that he would grant the young Randhartinger access to the Artaria 166a notebook?

Below we report the complete list of the compositions that are part of Artaria 166b with the addition of a brief comment:

• 1) “Fra tutte le pene” – Duet for Tenor and Bass (from folio 1 verso to folio 2 verso). The version is superimposable on the second Beethovenian version except for the upbeat of the Bass in the second part, where Beethoven indicates an F and Randhartinger an A.

  2) “Fra tutte le pene” – Trio for Soprano, Contralto and Tenor (from folio 3 recto to folio 4 verso).

  3) “Fra tutte le pene” – Quartet for Soprano, Contralto, Tenor and Bass (from folio 5 recto to folio 7 recto). Folio 7 verso is blank.

  4) “Bei labbri che amore” – Duet for Soprano and Tenor (from folio 8 recto to folio 9 recto). This version corresponds to the one with Salieri’s corrections; in the piano accompaniment I found some harmonic oddities. Folio 9 verso is blank.

  5) “Ma tu tremi” – Trio for Soprano, Contralto and Tenor (from folio 10 recto to folio 11 verso). Randhartinger’s version is identical to the one corrected by Salieri; the only difference: in the Tenor part, in the penultimate bar, the last quaver for Randhartinger is a C♯, whereas in the version in Artaria 166a it is, strangely, a D.

  6) “Quella cetra ah tu pur sei” – Quartet for Soprano, Contralto, Tenor and Bass (from folio 12 recto to folio 13 verso). It corresponds to the version in G major, the second version written by Beethoven, with few changes: in the Contralto part, last bar, the first crotchet in Artaria 166a is an F♯ (leading tone), whereas in Randhartinger’s version it is a G (anticipation of the tonic). For Soprano and Tenor, bar 17, the second crotchet for Beethoven is clearly an F♯, while Randhartinger has turned it into an F natural.

  7) “Su questo colle erboso” – Duet for 2 Sopranos (from folio 14 recto to folio 17 verso). This duet is not by Beethoven even though it is found in the Artaria 166a manuscript; it is actually by Alexander Cornet. Unlike the other songs that Salieri wanted to be resolved as homorhythmic (or almost), this duet was developed as a true operatic duet; it begins with the two Sopranos singing alternately in a question‑and‑answer pattern and then continues together. It is very different from the printed copy made by Cornet (6 Duettini…), both in the notes and especially in the text, which is distorted compared to Metastasio’s poem. The piano accompaniment is also different.

  8) “Nel mirarvi o boschi amici” – Duet for Soprano and Bass (from folio 18 recto to folio 18 verso). Already from the first notes we find differences between Randhartinger’s manuscript and the version in the Beethoven manuscript: in the first bar, fourth beat, in the Bass part Beethoven writes F♯–A, while Randhartinger writes B–A; in bar 10 in the Soprano part Doblhof‑Dier writes D–C, while Randhartinger writes D–D.

  9) “Nel mirarvi o boschi amici” – Quartet for Soprano, Contralto, Tenor and Bass (from folio 19 recto to folio 19 verso). Here too we find some small differences compared to the printed version by Doblhof‑Dier.

  10) “Quanto è bella la campagna” – Trio for Soprano, Tenor and Bass (from folio 20 recto to folio 21 verso). Already from the beginning Randhartinger modifies the rhythm of the lower parts, simplifying them; it is naturally implied that one must follow the rhythm as sung by the Soprano. In the penultimate bar, in the Tenor part, strangely Randhartinger changes in pencil the last note from D to C.

  11) “O care selve antiche” – Trio for Soprano, Tenor and Bass (from folio 22 recto to folio 23 recto). In the Tenor part, between bars 14 and 15, we read E–C C–B, whereas the original printed part by Doblhof‑Dier is A–F F–E. Folio 23 verso is blank.

  12) “La pastorella al prato” – Quartet for Soprano, Contralto, Tenor and Bass (from folio 23 recto to folio 27 verso). A very long and varied piece. In bar 25 we find an error in the text: Randhartinger writes for all four voices nel’agnellino instead of coll’agnellino. In the Contralto part the penultimate bar has been visibly altered; other small differences appear in the various parts. In the piano part Randhartinger becomes distracted and writes, in the first 8 bars, the right hand in treble clef instead of bass clef. In the central section of the song, in the piano, several sharps on F are missing in the right‑hand part (naturally implied).

  13) “Se lontan ben mio tu sei” – “Little trio” for 2 Sopranos and Bass (from folio 28 recto to folio 28 verso). This version is identical to the one found in Artaria 166a.

  14) “L’onda che mormora” – “Little trio” for Soprano, Tenor and Bass (from folio 29 recto to folio 30 verso). This transcription is superimposable on that of Artaria 166a except in the penultimate bar, in the Bass part, where the first A here is an octave higher. Randhartinger has only modified every instance of the preposition tra into its equivalent fra.

  15) “Chi mai di questo core” – Trio for Soprano, Tenor and Bass (from folio 31 recto to folio 33 verso). The version is superimposable on Beethoven’s with Salieri’s corrections except for the bars with the double fermata, in which Randhartinger suppresses the rest on the last quaver; another difference is found in the Tenor part, last bar, where Randhartinger correctly adjusts the Tenor note from A to C. Some other small variations appear in the Bass part, for example on the text quando divenne amante he correctly separates the final syllable of divenne from the following a of amante; on the final syllable of the same word Beethoven writes the second G an octave lower, while Randhartinger writes it an octave higher. Another octave difference is found again in the Bass at bar 31. The piano part has also been erased and modified in some places.

  16) “Scrivo in te l’amato nome” – Duet for Soprano and Tenor (from folio 34 recto to folio 35 verso). The version matches perfectly with Beethoven’s.

  17) “Per te d’amico aprile” – Trio for Soprano, Contralto and Bass (from folio 36 recto to folio 37 recto). Folio 37 verso is blank.

  18) “Nei campi e nelle selve” – Quartet for Soprano, Contralto, Tenor and Bass (from folio 36 recto to folio 38 recto). The piano part in some places has some missing accidentals which, however, can be inferred from the three voices above. Folio 38 verso is blank.

  19) “Bei labbri che amor formò” – Duet for Soprano and Tenor (from folio 39 recto to folio 40 recto). This is a second version of the Beethovenian duet; it would correspond to the first version made by Beethoven but with many differences in the movement of the two voices. Notably, Randhartinger does not indicate the da capo al fine, which is nevertheless implied. Folio 40 verso is blank.

  20) “Nei campi e nelle selve” – for 4‑voice Choir (from folio 41 recto to folio 43 recto). It corresponds to the first version of the Beethovenian song. At the beginning of the Adagio, in the Contralto part, in the last two quavers Beethoven writes two Fs, while Randhartinger also writes the two Fs but then erases them and corrects them to two Ds. In the text the phrase colpa non sia di lei becomes in Randhartinger colpa non sia da lei. Folio 43 verso is blank.