Biamonti 391 – Beginning of a Quartet “for Four Voices”

“Zugleich gut für den letzten Zug vom Pianoforte” (Equally good for the final stage of piano study) Page 120, circa 1803. Mentioned by Gustav Nottebohm, page 57 of his book Ein Skizzenbuch von Beethoven aus dem Jahre 1803, without reproducing the music.

It is found in the Landsberg 6 Sketchbook, also known as the Eroica Sketchbook, on page 120, lines 2–5. Nottebohm describes it as: “Quartetto per 4 voci zugleich gut für den letzten Zug vom Pianoforte“ [“Quartet for four voices, equally good for the final stage of piano study”] In addition to the text cited by Nottebohm, Beethoven writes in the margin of these two double staves: “Sklave Junius” (Slave Junius)

In her analytical article on the entire sketchbook, Rachel W. Wade attributes this fragment to the opera Vestas Feuer.

The text found at the end of line 2 reads: “Wir liebe uns zu” (We love each other too). In fact, this vocal quartet contains only the entries of the first two voices: soprano and bass. The first six measures are clearly intended as an instrumental introduction.