Hess 300 – Canon Sketch “Liebe mich werter Weissenbach”
The musical examples on this page are curated by Graziano Denini.
Hess 300 – Sketch of the Canon “Liebe mich werter Weissenbach” (Love Me, Dear Weissenbach). Manuscript Details: This sketch appears on page 22 (lines 4–5) and page 29 (lines 9–11) of the Taschenbuch BH 107, one of Beethoven’s pocket notebooks that he carried during his walks. He used these to jot down pencil notes for future compositions. The sketches for this canon are found among the drafts for the Credo of the Missa Solemnis. Although these sketches have been known to Beethoven scholars for over a century, apparently no attempt had been made to reconstruct the canon until now.
Musical Structure: On page 22, we find the first melodic hint, marked with the word “canon,” already indicating the intended form. The actual canon “Liebe mich werter Weissenbach” is found on page 29. Unlike many of Beethoven’s sketches, it is not written sequentially but with the three parts superimposed, allowing the contrapuntal regularity to be clearly seen. The text, as is often the case in Beethoven’s sketches, is somewhat unclear but could be: “Liebe mich, liebe mich, werter Weissenbach, liebe mich” (Love me, love me, dear Weissenbach, love me). Biamonti, in his catalog of Beethoven’s sketches and fragments, suggests a variant: “Liebe mich, liebe mich, werther, werther Weissenbach, liebe mich.”
Historical Context: Dr. Aloys Weißenbach was a professor in Salzburg. In October 1819, Beethoven planned to send his nephew to Salzburg for education. Weißenbach wrote him a letter on November 15, 1819, in this context. It is likely that the canon was not created before this letter arrived—thus, not before late November 1819. In The Beethoven Sketchbooks (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1985), Johnson refers to the piece with the title: “Liebe mich, werter Freund” (Love me, dear friend) – page 367. The Skizzenbuch aus den Jahren 1819/20 (Sketchbook from the years 1819/20) was published in transcription by Joseph Schmidt-Görg through the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn in 1952, and in facsimile in 1968.
Aloys Weißenbach: Life and Career: Born: March 1, 1766 in Telfs. Died: October 26, 1821 in Salzburg. Austrian physician and writer. Weißenbach was the son of farmers and received his early education in local monasteries. He later attended high school in Innsbruck and completed his medical studies at the Josephsakademie in Vienna in 1788.
He enlisted in the imperial army and served in the Turkish war and campaigns against France. He was promoted to k.k. Oberfeldarzt (Imperial Senior Field Surgeon) during the French campaigns. In 1804, he obtained the chair of theoretical and practical surgery and veterinary medicine at the newly established medical faculty of the University of Salzburg. He also became director of the surgical clinic at St. Johann’s Hospital and was awarded the title of medical advisor. He served as both the first and last dean of the faculty.
Weißenbach also gave private lectures in ophthalmology and worked as a volunteer vaccination physician in smallpox prevention. When the medical school was converted into a major surgical center in 1807, he retained his position.
In 1810, Salzburg became part of Bavaria, which transformed the surgical studies into a rural medical school. Weißenbach became professor of zoonomy, anthropology, theoretical and practical surgery, and director of the school. In 1812, he was appointed director of the Johannsspital in Salzburg. In 1816, after Salzburg returned to Austria, he was appointed to the imperial council. He was present in Vienna during the Congress of Vienna.
In 1818, when the surgical training institute returned to its original location, he resumed teaching surgery. He was also a board member of the “Museum” Association in Salzburg. Weißenbach authored the cantata Der glorreiche Augenblick (The Glorious Moment), written in 1814, which was set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven as Opus 136. For more details, refer to the dedicated page at the Beethoven Music Research Center.
First sketch of the melody – page 22 lines 4-6
Sketch for the Canon – page 29 lines 9-11