Hess 246 – Double Fugue for Four Voices (String Quartet? Choir?) in F Major
(Fragment)
Hess 246 – Double Fugue for Four Voices (String Quartet? Choir?) in F Major (Fragment)
This is a fragmentary and unfinished double fugue for four voices (possibly for string quartet or mixed choir) in F major, based on the liturgical themes: Subject: “Kyrie eleison”. Countersubject: “Christe eleison”. It was likely composed during Beethoven’s final period of study with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, around early 1795 (not later than March). The sketch spans two manuscript pages.
Scholarly Commentary: Musicologist A. Willem Holsbergen provides the following insights: “Hess seems to associate this double fugue sketch with other fugues Beethoven wrote under Albrechtsberger’s instruction, and thus dates it to around 1794–95. Hess also suggests that the themes may have been provided by Albrechtsberger. This seems unlikely. In other double fugues from this period, one theme was typically taken from Albrechtsberger’s list of exercises, while the second was either Beethoven’s own or also from Albrechtsberger. In the case of Hess 246, neither theme appears in that list.”
More importantly, as noted by Jan Templiner, there are striking similarities between the two themes of Hess 246 and the double fugue in the “Kyrie eleison” from Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626. If this is true, Beethoven may have modeled his sketch on Mozart’s illustrious example.
Manuscript and Autograph: The autograph is preserved at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, in the H.C. Bodmer Collection, catalogued as HCB Mh 61. The sketch shows Beethoven writing the theme “Kyrie eleison” in all four parts, followed by the countersubject “Christe eleison”. He began transferring the countersubject to other voices but did not complete the fugue. The interlinking of entries is visible, even to non-specialists in fugue theory.
Musical Structure: Key: F major. Form: Double fugue (two distinct themes). Voicing: Four parts, possibly for choir or string quartet. Status: Fragmentary and incomplete.
The fugue follows standard pedagogical procedures:
- Theme introduced in all voices
- Countersubject added
- Partial transfer of countersubject to other voices
- No final harmonization or completion
Beethoven may have abandoned the sketch due to boredom, distraction, or satisfaction with the contrapuntal exercise. A reconstruction by Albert Willem Holsbergen is available on The piece is also indexed in , confirming its structure and thematic material.
