WoO 155 Twenty-sex Walisische Lieder for voice, piano, violin, and cello
arrangement and creation of the instrumental parts (introductions, conclusions, accompaniments) by Beethoven
Official title: 26 Walisische Lieder (I – XXVI), für eine oder zwei Singstimmen mit Begleitung von Klavier, Violine und Violoncello. Widmung: — NGA XI/1 AGA/SBG siehe Konkordanz S. 370f
The Lieder were composed in 1810, except for no. 15 and the second version of no. 20 (February 1813), as well as no. 25 (between September 1814 and May 1815). The original edition of the 26 Lieder was published in May 1817 in Volume 3 of the Select Collection of Original Welsh Airs by Thomas Preston in London and George Thomson in Edinburgh.
On 1st July 1806, the Scottish music lover and publisher George Thomson (1757–1851) first approached Beethoven, asking whether he would be willing to harmonize Scottish melodies for him (later also including Irish and Welsh melodies) (BGA 253; for the collections of folk songs published by Thomson and Preston, see more extensively Op. 108). Beethoven agreed (BGA 259), and Thomson subsequently sent 21 melodies between late 1806 and early 1807, which were, however, evidently lost in the post. On 25th September 1809, he resubmitted 43 melodies (including the first 21), among which were the Welsh melodies from WoO 155 nos. 1–14, 16–24, and 26 (BGA 401). On 17th July 1810, Beethoven sent his harmonizations in triplicate, via separate routes (including source II.1), to Edinburgh (BGA 457). After a year had passed and none of the parcels had arrived, Beethoven (who had also sent his autograph scores) borrowed a copy prepared for Archduke Rudolf from Ignaz von Baumeister to have it transcribed again (BGA 514; possibly source II.2). The new shipment was made on 20th July 1811 (source II.3; BGA 515), and Beethoven emphasized on the title that this copy was “meilleure que les trois autres exemplaires deja envoyés.” Thomson confirmed receipt on 5th August 1812 (BGA 590), but he wished to modify some of the harmonizations, including WoO 155 no. 20. He cited excessive technical demands and requested that the new version be “plus aisee, et ou il y aura plus de Fair.“
On 21st December 1812, Thomson sent two new melodies to Beethoven, including that of WoO 155 no. 15 (BGA 605). Beethoven sent him the harmonization of no. 15 and the new version of no. 20 on 19th February 1813 (BGA 623; source II.4). In the letter, he described the difficulties of reworking compositions that had already been written down, as this altered their character; he had therefore recomposed the Lieder from scratch. Thomson confirmed receipt of the shipment only with his letter of 23rd April 1814 (BGA 713), after, due to postal delays, he had again commissioned the Lieder (BGA 629).
In his letter of 17th August 1814 (BGA 730), Thomson sent six more Irish melodies and six that he defined as “Scottish,” including that of Lied WoO 155 no. 25, which was finally published as Welsh. In response to his request of 2nd January 1815 (BGA 773), Beethoven replied in February announcing that the Lieder were “with exception of a few […] ready to be forwarded” (BGA 784). He only delivered the pieces on 10th June 1815 to the Fries bank for forwarding to Edinburgh (BGA 813). Thomson confirmed receipt of the Lieder on 20th August 1815 (BGA 825), and he now had all the harmonizations for WoO 155. They were published in May 1817 in Volume 3 of the Select Collection of Original Welsh Airs. On 25th June 1817, Thomson informed Beethoven that a copy had been sent (BGA 1133).
| Title | Author of the Text | Tempo | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Sion the son of Evan / The chace of the wolf | Anne Grant (1755–1838) | Maestoso con spirito | |
| II | The monks of Bangor’s march / Ymdaith mwnge | Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) | Maestoso | |
| III | The cottage maid | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Andante | |
| IV | Love without hope / Y corphorllwyth | John Richardson (1787–1865) | Allegretto espressivo assai amoroso | |
| V | The golden robe / Isgin aur | Anne Hunter (1742–1821) | Allegretto | |
| VI | The fair maids of Mona | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Andante espressivo | |
| VII | O let the night / Gogerddan | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Allegretto | |
| VIII | Farewell thou noisy town / Croesaw[iad] gwraig y ty | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Vivace | |
| IX | To the aeolian harp | Anne Hunter (1742–1821) | Andante espressivo | |
| X | Ned Pugh’s farewell / Ffarwel Ned Puw | Anne Hunter (1742–1821) | Andantino con moto | |
| XI | Peggy’s daughter / Merch Megan | Anne Hunter (1742–1821) | Allegretto | |
| XII | Waken lords and ladies gay / Conset siri | Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) | Allegretto spiritoso | |
| XIII | Helpless woman | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Andantino con moto | |
| XIV | The dream / Syr Harri ddu | Rev. Roberts su Dafydd ap Gwilym | Andantino | |
| XV | When mortals all to rest retire / Mynachdy | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Andante affettuoso con molto (!) espressione | |
| XVI | Hide not The damsels of Cardigan Anguish | Sir William Jones (1746–1794) | Allegretto | |
| XVII | The dairy house / Hafod y wraig lawen | Anne Hunter (1742–1821) | Allegretto più tosto vivace | |
| XVIII | Sweet Richard | Amelia Opie (1769–1853) | Andante affettuoso | |
| XIX | Wife, ChildrThe vale of Clwyd | Amelia Opie (1769–1853) | Andante lamentabile | |
| XX | To the blackbird / Pen Rhaw | Rev. Roberts su Dafydd ap Gwilym | Andantino più tosto Allegretto | |
| XXI | Cupid’s kindness / Hen wraig Llanallgo | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Vivace e scherzoso | |
| XXII | Constancy / Y gofid glas | Robert Burns (strofa I), anonimo (strofa II) | Andante espressivo | Duet |
| XXIII | My pleasant home / Yr hen don | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Andante espressivo amoroso | |
| XXIV | Three hundred pounds / Trichant o bunnau | Richard Llwyd (1752–1835) | Vivace | |
| XXV | The parting kiss | William Smyth (1765–1849) | Andante espressivo | |
| XXVI | Good night / Gyrru’r byd o’m blaen | William Robert Spencer (1769–1834) | Vivace scherzando |
George Thomson: the gentleman who brought Beethoven into the world of folk songs
George Thomson was born in 1757 in Limekilns, Dunfermline, Scotland, the son of a schoolmaster with legal training. His education, grounded in solid humanistic foundations, fostered from an early age a deep interest in music, poetry, and the national cultural heritage. Although he was not a professional musician, Thomson developed remarkable expertise in the field of vocal music and the British folk tradition. For sixty years Thomson served as clerk to the Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of Art and Manufacture in Edinburgh. This stable position allowed him to devote himself to a far‑reaching cultural project: the enhancement of Scottish folk song through high‑quality musical editions. In 1793 he began publishing his monumental work, A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice, structured in six volumes issued between 1793 and 1841. The aim was twofold: to preserve and disseminate traditional Scottish, Irish, and Welsh melodies; and to ennoble them through cultivated accompaniments and poetic texts by leading authors.
Among the poets involved were Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Thomas Moore, Thomas Campbell, and Lord Byron. To lend musical authority to his collections, Thomson commissioned arrangements from important European composers: Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ignaz Pleyel, Leopold Kozeluch, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Maria von Weber, Henry Rowley Bishop, Robert Archibald Smith.
This network of collaborations, unique in its kind, transformed Thomson’s collection into a bridge between the British folk tradition and the European musical language. The relationship with Ludwig van Beethoven represents the most significant aspect of Thomson’s editorial activity. In 1806 Thomson proposed that the composer create accompaniments for British folk songs, following a model already tested with Haydn. Between 1809 and 1820, Beethoven composed 179 arrangements for voice, piano, violin, and cello, based predominantly on Scottish, Irish, and Welsh melodies supplied by Thomson. This is a substantial corpus, which occupied the composer for several years and constitutes a not insignificant part of his vocal output.
The collaboration was accompanied by extensive correspondence, written mainly in French due to their mutual linguistic difficulties. A key letter is that of 23 November 1809, preserved at the Beethoven‑Haus in Bonn, in which Beethoven: accepts writing accompaniments for 43 songs sent by Thomson; requests a higher fee; asserts his freedom to choose the instrumental ensemble; and observes that this type of composition is not “properly artistic,” but necessary for economic reasons.
These documents testify to a complex professional relationship, marked by mutual esteem but also by intense negotiation. Thomson continued to revise and expand his collections into old age. He died in 1851, leaving behind a cultural legacy of enormous significance: thanks to his work, Scottish and British folk song entered permanently into the European repertoire and acquired a new artistic dignity. His work remains today an indispensable source for the study of the folk tradition and for understanding the relationship between popular and cultivated music in the early nineteenth century.
