Biamonti 491 – “Freudvoll und leidvoll”. Lied for two voices and piano. Unused sketch, written on a group of sheets described by Nottebohm (Zweite Beethoveniana, II, pages 270–271). A graceful melodic page, with no connection to the song for voice and orchestra composed for Goethe’s Egmont.

New observations from the Beethoven Music Research Center (May 2024): These sketches are found in Landsberg 5, pages 88 and 89. Nottebohm writes in his Zweite Beethoveniana: “Entwürfe zur Composition des Goethe’schen Liedes ‘Freudvoll und leidvoll’, die jedoch, weil wie mit Clavierbegleitung und zum Teil für zwei Singstimmen gedacht sind, keine Beziehung zur Egmont-Musik (Op. 84) haben.” [Sketches for the composition of Goethe’s Lied “Joyful and Sorrowful,” which, however, since they are conceived with piano accompaniment and partly for two singing voices, have no relation to the Egmont music (Op. 84).]

He also notes: “Die Musik zu Egmont wurde im Jahr 1810 componirt. Nun findet sich in dem vorne mit der Jahreszahl 1809 versehenen Original-Manuscript des Quartetts Op. 74 beim dritten Satz die Bemerkung: ‘Partitur von Egmont gleich an Goethe.’ Das scheint ein Widerspruch zu sein. Man darf aber daran erinnern, dass die Jahreszahl ‘1809’ nur auf den Beginn der Reinschrift zu beziehen ist und dass, als die obigen Liedskizzen geschrieben wurden, der zweite und dritte Satz des Quartetts in den Skizzen noch nicht fertig, der letzte Satz noch nicht angefangen war.” [The music for Egmont was composed in 1810. Now, in the original manuscript of the Quartet Op. 74, which bears the date 1809 on the front, there is a note in the third movement: “Score of Egmont same as Goethe.” This seems to be a contradiction. However, one must remember that the year “1809” refers only to the beginning of the fair copy, and that when the above Lied sketches were written, the second and third movements of the quartet were not yet finished in the sketches, and the final movement had not yet been started.]

In fact, rather than a Lied for two voices with piano accompaniment, these appear to be two—indeed, three—attempts to set the same Lied to music. All three versions are in the key of F major.

• The first version is in 3/8 time, found on staves 3 to 9 of page 88. It is divided into two parts: the first consists of 17 measures with a repeat sign; the second—beginning in the relative minor—has 22 measures and includes a da capo that returns to the beginning (specifically to the third measure, since the first two measures of the da capo are only hinted at by Beethoven). The Lied thus constructed would have an A–A–B–A structure. Among the three versions, this is the most complete, lacking only the piano accompaniment, and is also the one that best fits Goethe’s text. Although this version would require at least three or four sung stanzas, Beethoven includes only the first stanza in the text, leaving the addition of further verses to a possible future revision.

• The second version is in 2/4 time. It consists of a single stanza. The melody is very simple and rhythmic, dominated by a repeated quaver–two semiquavers pattern. It is less convincing, especially considering that Beethoven did not favor the strophic Lied (in which all stanzas are set identically), but rather sought greater adherence to the text, tending to set each stanza differently.