WoO 140 “An die Geliebte”: O dass ich dir vom stillen Auge, song for voice and piano
Andantino, un poco agitato
WoO 140 – An die Geliebte: O dass ich dir vom stillen Auge, for voice and piano (two versions), December 1811. The first version was published in Augsburg by Gombart after 1825; the second in Vienna as an appendix to the Wiener Zeitschrift «Friedensblätter. Eine Zeitschrift für Leben, Literatur und Kunst» on 12 July 1814, and separately in Bonn by Simrock in early 1817. GA nos. 243a and 243 (series 23/30 and 29) – Boett. IX/6 – B. 247 – ICH. (WoO) 140 – L. IV, p. 347 – N. p. 183 – T. 165.
The original manuscript of the first version is preserved in the library of the Paris Conservatoire; that of the second in the archives of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna. Text by Jos. Ludwig Stoll. Since this poem was not printed until late 1813 in the Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1814, and Beethoven’s song bears the date December 1811 in the manuscripts, KH observes that Beethoven must have received a copy directly from the author (whom he already knew) prior to its publication.
A brief and charming song. The two versions differ almost exclusively in the piano accompaniment.
O daß ich dir vom stillen Auge
In seinem liebevollen Schein
Die Träne von der Wange sauge,
Eh sie die Erde trinket ein!
Wohl hält sie zögernd auf der Wange
Und will sich heiß der Treue weihn.
Nun ich sie so im Kuß empfange,
[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 140 An die Geliebte Lied (C-dur/D-dur) nach einem Gedicht von Joseph Johann Ludwig Stoll für Singstimme und Klavier Widmung: — NGA XII/1 Nr. 54-55, 86, 106 AGA 243-243a = Serie 23/29-30
Origin and publication: The song was sketched in September/October 1811 and has survived in three versions. Beethoven wrote the first before or during December 1811; the autograph score of the second bears the inscription “im Monath December 1811,” and the final version was probably not written before 1814. The original editions of this last version appeared in 1814 and 1816: in July 1814 as a musical supplement to the Viennese periodical Friedensblätter, and in December 1816 by Simrock in Bonn and Cologne. The two earlier versions were first published by Gombart in Augsburg in March/April 1826 and posthumously in January 1836 as a musical supplement to the journal Europa, Chronik der gebildeten Welt (Leipzig/Stuttgart).
Beethoven’s earliest sketches for the song, found in the notebook known as “Petter,” date from September 1811. He wrote them on the first original leaf of the sketchbook (now leaf 74), on the following leaf known as “Grasnick 20a” (now leaf 1), and on another sheet, probably later, now in a private collection in Berlin. The sketches for WoO 140 on leaf 74 therefore represent the earliest known notes for this song.
In the first edition of the second version, there is a note indicating that the song was entered in the (now lost) register of the singer Regina Lang (1788–1827), née Hitzelberger. Lang made her debut at the Munich Court Theatre at the age of seventeen and studied with Abbé Vogler, Peter von Winter, and Carl Cannabich in Munich. The Bavarian court singer was regarded as the finest soprano of her time. In November 1811 she resigned from the theatre and travelled to Vienna—perhaps hoping for an engagement in the imperial capital. After some time, she returned to Munich, where she worked as a chamber singer.
The three versions differ chiefly in key (the first in C major, the second and third in D major) and in the piano accompaniment. The first version, published in 1826 in a Gombart anthology in Augsburg and also included in a Munich anthology, is the one closest to the sketches and must therefore be considered the earliest. The autograph scores of the second and third versions are both dated “December 1811.” It is, however, possible that the manuscript of the third version was not produced until 1814, as suggested by the watermark of the paper used. Although all other documents with the same watermark in Beethoven’s hand date from 1815, the textual state of this third version—with its numerous corrections—suggests that it served as a printer’s copy for the Viennese original. It seems that Beethoven no longer possessed the earlier manuscript and was therefore obliged to prepare this new transcription for the forthcoming publication.
At the end of September 1816, Peter Joseph Simrock, son of Nikolaus Simrock, purchased the two songs WoO 140 and 145 together with Op. 102. Simrock immediately published the songs and advertised them in the Kölnische Zeitung on 15 December 1816.
Text: Joseph Johann Ludwig Stoll (1778–1815), “An die Geliebte,” first printed in 1814 in two almanacs published in Vienna: Selam. Ein Almanach für Freunde des Mannigfaltigen and Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1814 by Johann Erichson (p. 185). Beethoven must have received the poem in manuscript directly from the author, whom he knew personally, since he set it to music as early as 1811 (BGA 391). This is also supported by a note in the “Petter” sketchbook, leaf 74 verso: “Nb: wenn noch 2 Strophen dazu kämen, würde Es noch schöner seyn.”
First performance: unknown.
The sketches will be featured in an article specially created for the Beethovenian Music Research Center, www.lvbeethoven.org
