Hess 263 – “Te solo adoro”. Canon for 2 Voices in E-flat Major, 8 Measures, Unpublished

This canon, catalogued as Hess 263, is a short two-voice composition in E-flat major, consisting of 8 measures. It remains unpublished in Beethoven’s lifetime and is preserved in sketch form.

Manuscript and Attribution: The sketch appears on page 8 of the trombone part of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It is written in Beethoven’s own hand and is part of the Bodmer Collection, catalogued by Max Unger as Mh 28. Today, this manuscript is re-catalogued as SBH 570 and housed at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.

Historical and Stylistic Context: This canon is closely related to two other Beethoven works that set the same text: WoO 186 – a more developed canon on “Te solo adoro” Hess 264 – another unpublished sketch, also in E-flat major. It is unclear whether Hess 263 is an early version of WoO 186 or a separate attempt. The stylistic similarities suggest it may have been composed around 1824, possibly for Carlo Evasio Soliva, an Italian composer and conductor active in Vienna at the time. Max Unger, in correspondence with Donald W. MacArdle, noted that Beethoven made multiple attempts to set the text “Te solo adoro” to music. One of these sketches, written in pencil, had faded so much it was nearly illegible. Unger believed Beethoven struggled to find the right rhythm for the words in that version.

The text “Te solo adoro” translates as: “Only you I adore, infinite mind, source of life and of truth.” This poetic line appears in all three versions (WoO 186, Hess 263, Hess 264), though the musical treatment varies. The canon’s devotional tone and contrapuntal structure reflect Beethoven’s fascination with spiritual and philosophical themes in his late period. This version was published by Willy Hess in Supplement zur Gesamtausgabe, Volume V, 1962, page 83.