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Hess 239 – Fugues on 30 themes given by Albrechtsberger (Fugarum themata ad semirestrictionem et restrictionem apta). -Three choral fugues

1) Fugue with chorale, in F major – 2) Fugue with chorale, in D minor 3) – Fugue with chorale, in G major
The texts and documents on this page are edited by Luigi Bellofatto, the music by Graziano Denini and Gerd Prengel.

We indicate these fugues using the new numbering from the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn: Cf (for chorale fugue) followed immediately by the ordinal number of the fugue itself. Therefore, the fugue “Hess 239 cf.03 Ronge page 138 original by Beethoven” should be understood as: Catalog number Hess 239, chorale fugue, third fugue, from the book Beethoven Kompositionsstudien by Julia Ronge, page 138 of the transcription and Beethoven’s original version before Albrechtsberger’s correction.

The fugues on 30 themes given by Albrechtsberger (Fugarum themata ad semirestrictionem et restrictionem apta) with chorale, on given themes (Hess 239). Nottebohm (Studien, pp. 112–125) lists three, incompletely reproducing two: in F major (double version) and D minor; Seyfried (pp. 233 ff., 239 ff.) reports the third in G major, the second version, and the one in F major.

The modern reference source for these studies is the Beethoven Werke Gesamtausgabe, founded by Joseph Schmidt-Görg, edited by Bernhard R. Appel on behalf of the Beethoven Archive in Bonn, Section XIII, Volume 1 (in three parts): Kompositionsstudien bei Joseph Haydn, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger und Antonio Salieri

BEETHOVEN WERKE
GESAMTAUSGABE BEGRÜNDET VON JOSEPH SCHMIDT-GÖRG HERAUSGEGEBEN VON BERNHARD R. APPEL IM AUFTRAG DES BEETHOVEN-ARCHIVS BONN

ABTEILUNG XIII • BAND 1 (IN DREI TEILEN)

Kompositionsstudien

bei Joseph Haydn, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger und. Antonio Salieri
G. HENLE VERLAG MÜNCHEN

BEETHOVEN

KOMPOSITIONSSTUDIEN

BEI JOSEPH HAYDN, JOHANN GEORG Albrechtsberger UND ANTONIO SALIERI
HERAUSGEGEBEN VON JULIA RONGE

1. TRANSKRIPTIONEN
2014

G. HENLE VERLAG MÜNCHEN

The manuscripts are preserved almost entirely in Vienna, at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, also known as the Musikverein. (Their location is A-Wgm. A 75 II, folios 40, 41, 17, etc.) These manuscripts may not be published or reproduced by third parties. The fugues are mostly in a more or less defined draft state. Where necessary, we will provide Beethoven’s original version (with deleted variants), Albrechtsberger’s corrections, and the notes of both student and teacher. The orchestration of the fugues is provided by Gerd Prengel

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (Klosterneuburg, 3 February 1736 – Vienna, 7 March 1809). He studied music at Melk Abbey and philosophy at a Benedictine seminary in Vienna, becoming one of the most cultured and skilled counterpointists of his time. After being engaged as organist at Rahab in 1755 and Maria Taferl in 1757, he was appointed Thurnermeister at Melk Abbey. In 1772 he was appointed organist at the court of Vienna, and in 1792 Kapellmeister of the Vienna Cathedral.

His fame as a theoretician brought him a few pupils, some of whom later became eminent musicians. These include Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Mozart. Beethoven had arrived in Vienna in 1792 to study with Joseph Haydn, but he was not satisfied with the lessons and studied harmony and counterpoint with Albrechtsberger.

His published compositions consist of preludes, fugues and sonatas for piano and organ, string quartets, and other composition but most of his works, vocal and instrumental, exist only in manuscript form.  They are in the library of the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. Around 1765, he wrote at least seven concertos for harps and strings (three of which are still in good condition and are in the Hungarian National Library in Budapest). These are pretty and well-written works. Among his most noteworthy works is the Concerto for alto trombone and orchestra in B flat major. Since the trombone does not boast many compositions dedicated to it during the classical period, this concerto is held in high esteem by trombonists.

Perhaps the most important contribution he has made to music, however, is in his theoretical works. In 1790 he published a treatise on composition in Leipzig. A collection of his writings on harmony, in three volumes, was published by his pupil Ignaz von Seyfried (1776–1841) in 1826. His compositional style derives from the counterpoint of Johann Joseph Fux.

Albrechtsberger died in Vienna; his tomb is in St. Marx’s Cemetery.

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