Biamonti 800 – Two Choral Sketches, 1824
Nottebohm, II, p. 545. One sketch is unfigured, according to Nottebohm, who suggests it may have been intended for the first movement of Quartet Op. 127. The other, not mentioned by him, contains some figuration.

New insights from the Beethoven Music Research Center identify these sketches in the manuscript known as Autograph 11/2, folio 5 recto, staves 8/9–12/13. Nottebohm writes: “Immitten der Entwürfe zum Quartettsatz finden sich (S. 3 bis 43) Entwürfe zum zweiten Satz desselben Quartetts, über welche bereits anderwärts berichtet ist, und (S.9) zwei Choralzeilen, von denen eine nicht figurirt, die andere etwas figurirt ist: Der Gedanke, mit dem sich Beethoven in diesen letzten Ansätzen beschäftigt, ist bald darauf in anderer Weise zur Ausführung gekommen.”

Beethoven begins a theme midway through staves 8/9 but immediately decides to modify it. After only the first note, he annotates the classic “Vi=” and continues the fragment at staves 12/13 with “=de.” Both sketches are presented here. Analysis shows that the first sketch is, in fact, the second—or rather, it represents the “official” version—while the second sketch corresponds to the initial version, which does not yet include the “Vi=” and “=de” indications.