Opus 81b – Sextet in E-flat major for two horns, two violins, viola and cello
I) Allegro con brio – II) Adagio – III) Rondo – Allegro
Opus 81b – Sextet in E-flat major for two horns, two violins, viola and cello, op. 81b, 1794 – early 1795, published in Bonn by Simrock: in parts, first half of 1810; in full score, 1846. GA no. 33 (Series 5/2) – B. 81 jb – KH. 81 jb – L. III p. 205 – N. 81 /b – P. 54 – T. 152
The original manuscript is lost. A revised copy is preserved in the archives of the Beethovenhaus (Bodmer collection). Nottebohm discovered several sketches among a leaf that also contains drafts for the song Seufzer eines Ungeliebten. The two horns play a prominent and distinctive role in the opening Allegro and in the brief Adagio, where they sing with a solemn, tender expressiveness. In the Rondo, which approaches the tone of the Settimino‘s Scherzo, the strings take the lead.
Official title: „Opus 81b“ Sextett (Es-dur) für zwei Hörner, zwei Violinen, Viola und Bass
Dedication: — NGA VI/1 AGA 33 = Series 5/2
Composition and publication: The surviving sketches for the Sextet were probably made in Vienna in 1795, though they are not necessarily the first conceived for this work. The original edition in parts was published by Simrock in Bonn in the spring or early summer of 1810.
The first edition likely appeared for Easter Mass 1810 or shortly thereafter. No advertisement or public notice of the work has yet been found in newspapers or journals. In July 1810, the edition, along with an arrangement for string quintet, was advertised in the Leipziger Allgemeinen musikalischen Zeitung (12, 1809/10, Intelligenzblatt 8, Sp. 32 – see photographs) among the newly available pieces issued by Breitkopf & Härtel. A month earlier, on 14 June 1810, an arrangement for piano trio was announced in the Zeitung für die elegante Welt.
In the quintet arrangement, the first and second violin parts remained unchanged. The first and second viola parts, along with the cello (which absorbs the remaining material from the original sextet), were re-engraved. The bass part of the Sextet edition is marked “Violoncello e Basso” and shows a corresponding differentiation in the musical text; the bass line in the quintet arrangement (enriched with passages originally given to the second horn) is marked simply “violoncello.” This allocation of the bass part clearly led to confusion—perhaps already at the time of delivery by the publisher. Some (likely later) copies of the Sextet edition include the bass part from the quintet version and vice versa, with certain markings corrected by hand.
The first performance remains unknown.
Sketches: D-B, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven 28 (“Fischhof”), folio 39v. Dated 1795 (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1 p. 403), facsimile: SBB, transcription: Johnson/Fischhof. GB-Lbl, Add. Ms. 29801 (“Kafka”), pp. 138v and 158r/v. Dated 1795 (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1 pp. 402–403), facsimile and transcription: Kerman/Kafka.
First edition: 1810 (spring or early summer).
„SEXTET / pour / deux Violons, Alt, Violoncelle, / et deux Cors, obligés / composé / PAR L. VAN BEETHOVEN. / [1.:] Oeuvre 81. [r.:] Prix 4 fr: 50 Cmes / A BONN chez N. Simrock. / Proprieté de l’Editeur: Deposée à la Bibliotheque imperiale.“
Quintet Opus 83 (cancelled) 82 (incorrect) in E-flat major for two violins, two violas and cello (Bonn, Simrock)
I) Allegro con brio – II) Adagio – III) Rondò – Allegro
Die Vesper
Gedicht von Th. Moore. Musik von Beethoven.
Text: Hoort aan ‘t strand de vespers zingen, tot de haven klinkt het door. O hoort ‘t geluid nu nader dringen, op de vieuglen van den wind, op de vieuglen van den wind. Nauw verzwonden als de wellen aan het strand, bij ‘t licht der maan. O hoort het ruischen, hoort het zwellen, of de vloed kwam bruisend weer, of de vloed kwam bruisend weer. Hört vom Strand die Vesper singen, heil’gen Klang im Hafen wehn! O hört es nah und näher dringen, wie die schwanken Lüftchen gehn, wie die schwanken Lüftchen gehn! Kaum erloschen wie die Wellen, am Gestad, im Mondeslicht. O hört es wachsen, hört es schwellen, wie sich Fluth und Ebbe bricht, wie sich Fluth und Ebbe bricht. Jubilate.
Music freely adapted from the slow movement of the Sextet, Opus 81b.
