WoO 129 “Der Wachtelschlag”: “Horch wie schallt’s…” for voice and piano
Larghetto
WoO 129 – Der Wachtelschlag: “Hear how it sounds…”, for voice and piano, 1803, published Vienna, Kunst und Industrie Comptoir, January–March 1804. GA. no. 234 (series 23/20) – Boett. VI/7 – B. 237 – KH. (WoO) 129 – L. IV, p. 321/24 – N. p. 179 – T. 108.
The original manuscript, unknown to Thayer-Riemann and Nottebohm, who therefore assigned the work to an earlier period, is preserved in the Bodmer collection at the Beethovenhaus and bears the title: Der Wachtelschlag, Komponirt für den Grafen Browne von Ludwig van Beethoven, 1803 (The Quail’s Call, composed for Count Browne by Ludwig van Beethoven, 1803). The opening words of the text, as noted in the Kinsky-Halm catalogue, are not identical in all editions: “Ach mir schallfs” in the original, “Ach wie schallfs” in some later editions, and “Horch wie schallfs,” as given in the Gesamtausgabe and followed by Bruers, who referred to the complete edition of Sauter’s poems (Karlsruhe, 1845). Beyond the commission reportedly given to Beethoven by Count Browne, as suggested by the manuscript’s title, nothing else is known. The work was published without dedication. The text—derived from a folk song—was written in 1796 by Samuel Friederich Sauter, a schoolmaster in Flehingen, Baden; it was published in many reading books and quickly became widespread. It sets, upon the recurring natural rhythm of the quail’s call verse, exhortations to honour God: “Furchte Gott! Liebe Gott! Lobe Gott! Danke Gott! Bitte Gott! Traue Gott!”, exhortations which have inspired, within the music, various episodes effectively coloured despite their brevity: pastoral, serene, anguished—as distinct moments of a dramatic unfolding. In some passages, one is reminded of the second part of the Prayer for Peace from the Missa solemnis.
Ach! mir schallt’s dorten so lieblich hervor:
Fürchte Gott, fürchte Gott!
Ruft mir die Wachtel ins Ohr.
Sitzend im Grünen, von Halmen umhüllt,
Mahnt sie dem Horcher im Saatengefild:
Liebe Gott, liebe Gott!
Er ist so gütig, so mild.
Wieder bedeutet ihr hüpfender Schlag:
Lobe Gott, lobe Gott!
Der dich zu lohnen vermag.
Siehst du die herrlichen Früchte im Feld?
Nimm es zu Herzen, Bewohner der Welt:
Danke Gott, danke Gott!
Der dich ernährt und erhält.
Schreckt dich im Wetter der Herr der Natur:
Bitte Gott, bitte Gott!
Ruft sie, er schonet die Flur.
Machen Gefahren der Krieger dir bang:
[Tröstet mich wieder der Wachtelgesang:]
Traue Gott, traue Gott!
Sieh’, er verziehet nicht lang
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 129 Der Wachtelschlag Lied (F-dur) nach einem Gedicht von Samuel Friedrich Sauter für Singstimme und Klavier Widmung: — NGA XII/1 Nr. 27 AGA 234 = Serie 23/20 Beiname: Wachtellied.
Composition and Publication: The song was sketched in the spring of 1803, „Komponirt für den Grafen Browne“ (see Op. 9), before the end of September that year. The original edition appeared in March, possibly as early as January 1804, published by the Kunst- und Industrie-Comptoir in Vienna. The surviving sketch consists of only three notes with the words „fürchte Gott“ written on an otherwise blank page found at the end of the Wielhorsky notebook. Crucial for dating the work are the cadence sketches for the first movement of Op. 37, which premiered on 5 April 1803 at the Theater an der Wien. It cannot be entirely excluded that the five missing sheets located at the beginning of the so-called Landsberg 6 notebook (which presumably follows the Wielhorsky notebook without interruption), now lost, contained the sketches for WoO 129 (and for the variations WoO 78). In a letter dated 15–27 September 1803, Beethoven offered the song along with WoO 78 and 79, as well as the Op. 45 four-hand marches, to Breitkopf & Härtel for publication (BGA 158). The original edition was advertised by the Wiener Kunst- und Industrie-Comptoir in the Wiener Zeitung on 10 March 1804 (alongside Op. 36, 45, and WoO 78), though it may have appeared as early as January.
Text: Author unknown. Beethoven’s version of the song, popular in numerous variants throughout the 18th century, was written by Baden schoolmaster Samuel Friedrich Sauter (1766–1846) and was first published in the Almanach und Taschenbuch für domestic und gesellschafts Freuden, 1799, by Carl Lang in Heilbronn am Neckar at the Industry Comptoir (p. 250). Regarding the nickname: in his offer to Breitkopf & Härtel, Beethoven himself refers to the song as Wachtellied (BGA 158). The date of the first performance is unknown.
The sketches will be featured in an article specially created for the Beethovenian Music Research Center, www.lvbeethoven.org
