Unv.20 – The “Lamentations of Jeremiah”
Study of figured basses found on page 96 recto of the “Kafka Sketchbook” Fourteen staves, all written in double clef. (with research by Graziano Denini)
On staff 8 Beethoven writes H‑Moll (B minor), then G‑Dur (G major). Further on one reads “bejm Simonetti” and “und Delombre.” The handwriting is bold, in black ink, yet precise. Few erasures, bass clefs typical of the late 1700s, note stems turned in the characteristic Beethovenian manner.
Folio 96 verso is completely blank, very worn, and stained with black ink.
The group of preceding leaves, from 90 recto to 95 verso, contains the Piano Fantasia Biamonti 213, attributable to the period 1788–1789.
Not a true independent work, but a study in figured bass. Thus, determining the dating of these pages is difficult; they could belong to a rather broad period, from 1785/6 to 1790/92.
See also the study by Schmidt‑Görg, “Ein neuer Fund in den Skizzenbüchern Beethovens: die Lamentationen des Propheten Jeremias”, B‑Jahrbuch III (1959), pp. 107–110.
The discoveries of Prof. Schmidt‑Görg may be summarized as follows:
Wegeler recounted an anecdote concerning Beethoven’s days as assistant organist of the Electoral Chapel in Bonn, when he had to accompany the tedious Lamentations during Holy Week. The young composer asked a singer (Heller) whether it might be possible to create unusual harmonizations of the liturgical chant and, having obtained his consent, began to study them. The sketches on page 96 must be the preparatory studies for this chant.
Beethoven mentions, among others, two singers of the Bonn Chapel: not Heller, the singer of the anecdote, but Simonetti and Delombre. To complicate the dating further, Simonetti worked in Bonn only from 1790 onward. The anecdote and the leaf could therefore have been conceived together for a Holy Week between 1790 and 1792 (Thayer inclines toward 1790).
Wegeler’s assertion that a piano was used—customary during Lent—is confirmed by the word “Knie” (“knee”) written at measure 12. Knee‑levers were associated with the pianos of the time, not with organs.
The cantus firmus studied by Beethoven differs slightly from the version given by Schindler (see Schindler, Beethoven, p. 41). The last three measures contain an acrostic of Hebrew letters (see description below).
Thus sketched in Bonn for Holy Week 1790, 1791, or 1792. The paper of the sketch leaf is from the Bonn period (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1, pp. 247–251).
Fundamental for dating is the mention of the two singers “bejm Simonetti / und / Delombre.” Ludwig Simonetti is listed in the documents of the Bonn court chapel from 1790 to 1794; Christian Hubert Delombre from 1779 to 1796 (Braubach/Hofka p. 53).
In his memoirs, the master baker Gottfried Fischer lists both court tenors as “the said friends who spent their time with Hr. Joh. v. Beethoven and his son Ludwig v. Beethoven, often visiting […]” (Wetzstein/Bäckermeister p. 126).
A much‑quoted anecdote by Franz Wegeler reports that the liturgically prescribed Lamentations were also sung during Holy Week at the court of the Archbishop‑Elector of Cologne (according to Schmidt‑Görg: “Lamentationen in stillen Metten um sechs Uhr abends”):
In the Catholic Church, during three days of Holy Week, the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah are sung. These consist of small sections of 4 to 6 lines and were performed, though according to a certain rhythm, as chorales. The chant consisted of four successive tones, e.g., c, d, e, f, on which several words, even entire sentences, were sung, until a few notes at the end returned to the fundamental tone. Since the organ must remain silent on these three days, the singer is accompanied freely only by a keyboard player. When this duty once fell to our Beethoven, he asked the very pitch‑secure singer Heller whether he would allow him to ‘throw him off,’ and used the somewhat too hastily granted permission in such a way that, through deviations in the accompaniment—although Beethoven continued to strike the sustained tone with his little finger—the singer lost the pitch so completely that he could no longer find the final cadence. The then music director of the Electoral Chapel and first violinist, Father Ries, still recounts in detail how astonished Kapellmeister Luchesi was by Beethoven’s playing. Heller, in the first outburst of anger, complained to the Elector, who, although amused by the spirited and at times mischievous young man, nevertheless ordered a simpler accompaniment.
In place of the organ, it was arranged that the singer be accompanied by a piano.
Besides the names of the singers, beneath a series of repeated quavers Beethoven notes “mit dem knie” (“with the knee”), i.e., with the knee‑lever. Keyboard instruments of the time had this feature.
Given the length of the texts, it is entirely plausible that Heller, Simonetti, and Delombre shared this duty.
The leaf also shows that Beethoven did not improvise the accompaniment freely, but prepared it in advance, establishing the Gregorian melody with figured‑bass patterns, usually given according to the Graduale Romanum.
The Lamentations (also Jeremiads, Vulgate Lamentationes Jeremiae, Septuagint Threni) are written in a book of five poems (chapters) in the Old Testament recounting the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The author is anonymous, but according to Jewish tradition the Lamentations are attributed to the prophet Jeremiah.
In the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the Lamentations are read in the night office (Matins) on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Sketches: GB‑Lbl, Add. Ms. 29801 (“Kafka”), fol. 96r. Facsimile and transcription: Kerman/Kafka.
Bibliography: Kramer/Education (especially pp. 72–86). Schmidt‑Görg/Lamentationen.
Additional Research by Graziano Denini
Denini describes his attempt to locate the Gregorian chant corresponding most closely to Beethoven’s minim notes in the first staff. He found a YouTube recording with matching melodic contour and a written Gregorian notation corresponding to chapter 2 of the Lamentations. He transcribed the chant onto staff notation, adjusting pitch to match Beethoven’s notes, modifying discrepancies according to Beethoven’s line.
He then copied Beethoven’s outer voices, added figures and Kerman’s indications, and inserted his own observations (marked with an asterisk). In the second part he juxtaposed the bass notes with the rhythmic chant, maintaining the incipit and HETH, and completed the inner voices following the figures and contrapuntal rules. He notes that HETH and TETH in the chant correspond perfectly to Beethoven’s notes.
A detailed analytical commentary follows, measure by measure, on the correctness of the figures relative to the chant.
Liturgical Context
In the Roman Catholic liturgy, the readings for the first Nocturn of the Triduum Sacrum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday) consist of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. They are among the most important sung texts of Holy Week, often set polyphonically by major composers from the 15th century onward.
The Concilio di Trento standardized the selection of verses. A detailed list of the readings for each day is provided, including the famous Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae and the Oratio Jeremiae.
A distinctive feature is the appearance of Hebrew letters (Aleph, Beth, Gimel, etc.) at the beginning of each verse, reflecting the acrostic structure of the Hebrew original—also present in Beethoven’s sketch.
Each reading ends with “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.”
A historical overview follows of the tonus lamentationum, its medieval variants, the post‑Tridentine standardization, and the survival of the ornate Spanish tone used for the Oratio Jeremiae.
Reference is made to a monophonic English setting by John Tuder (15th century), a paraphrase of the Roman tone.
A list of other composers who set the Lamentations is provided: Tallis, Byrd, Vallotti, Durante, Alessandro Scarlatti, Jommelli, and others.
The “Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah”, texts and music by other authors
Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Francesco Durante, Alessandro Scarlatti, Niccolò Jommelli and others.