WoO 156 Twenty-two Schottische Lieder for voice, piano, violin, and cello
arrangement and creation of the instrumental parts (introductions, conclusions, accompaniments) by Beethoven
Official title: 22 Schottische Lieder (I – XXII), für eine oder drei Singstimmen mit Begleitung von Klavier, Violine (Flöte) und Violoncello. Widmung: — NGA XI/1 AGA/SBG siehe Konkordanz S. 371
Beethoven composed the Lieder in several stages between 1810 and 1820. Lied no. 1 was created in 1810, nos. 2–4 followed in 1815, nos. 5–7 in 1817, nos. 8–15 in 1818, nos. 16–19 in 1819, and nos. 20–22 in 1820. The original editions (for voice and piano) of Lieder no. 16 and no. 19 appeared in May 1822 in Volume 2 of the Select Melodies of Scotland, interspersed with those of Ireland and Wales; those of Lieder nos. 8–10, 12, 13, and 17 were published in June 1825 in Volume 6 of Thomson’s Collection of the Songs… united to the Select Melodies of Scotland, and of Ireland and Wales by Thomas Preston in London and George Thomson in Edinburgh. Some first editions were posthumous: no. 4 in 1839, and nos. 11, 15, and 18 in 1841. Nos. 7 and 20 were published in 1860 by Peters in Leipzig and Berlin, as well as by Ewer & Co. in London. The remaining first editions appeared only in 1971 as part of the SBG by Breitkopf & Härtel in Wiesbaden.
On 1st July 1806, the Scottish music lover and publisher George Thomson (1757–1851) first asked Beethoven if 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 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 them the Scottish melody of WoO 156 no. 1 (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 Thomson confirmed receipt on 5th August 1812 (BGA 590).
In his letter of 17th August 1814, Thomson sent six Irish melodies and six that he defined as “Scottish,” including those of WoO 156 nos. 2–4 (BGA 730). Beethoven delivered the pieces only after repeated requests, on 10th June 1815, to the Fries bank for forwarding to Edinburgh (source II.5; BGA 813). Thomson confirmed receipt on 20th August 1815 (BGA 825).
Beethoven only received the subsequent melodies for WoO 156 two years later. On 24th January 1817 (BGA 1072), Thomson sent ten Scottish melodies, including those of nos. 5–7, whose harmonization Beethoven delivered on 26th February 1817 to Fries (source II.6; BGA 1085). Thomson confirmed this shipment in his letter of 25th June 1817 (BGA 1133).
In his shipment of the melodies for nos. 8–15, Thomson requested Beethoven on 22nd June 1818 to write the accompaniment “avec attention particuliere, et tout-a fait simples et faciles, afin que la Chan-teuse ne soit pas embarassee en s’accompagnant,” and he wanted a three-part harmonization for seven of the eight melodies, “comme des Terzetti, en ajoutant un seconde partie et un Basse à chacun” (BGA 1262). Beethoven fulfilled this request in the trios nos. 8–14. At Thomson’s request, on 18th November 1818, Beethoven sent the accompaniment parts in separate copies (sources II.8–10) to Edinburgh — where they must have arrived before 28th December 1818 (Weber-Bockholdt/NGA XI/1 KB p. 39) — including a flute part (alternative to the violin), which Thomson had requested for these harmonizations for the first time. For Lieder nos. 16–21 (no. 22 is a special case, being merely an addition to a composition by Joseph Haydn, see below), there is also a flute part, but the differences from the violin part are minimal.
In his letter of 28th December 1818, Thomson sent the melody for no. 16 to Vienna (BGA 1275). Beethoven’s harmonization reached him in March 1819. However, no correspondence from Beethoven regarding this is preserved. According to the receipt of his fee from Fries on 20th February 1819 (cf. BGA 1303 note 3), Beethoven likely sent it at that time.
Thomson sent the melodies for nos. 17–19 on 5th April 1819 (BGA 1297). Since they are not mentioned in the subsequent letter of 23rd November 1819 (BGA 1357), Thomson probably received Beethoven’s shipment (of 25th May?). In that letter, Thomson sent two melodies with brief descriptions to Vienna: for WoO 156 no. 20 — already harmonized by Beethoven in 1814/15 (as WoO 156 no. 4) — and for no. 21. The date of Beethoven’s shipment is unknown. In his confirmation of receipt on 14th January 1820, Thomson pointed out to Beethoven that the second melody had not been harmonized as requested for three voices and asked for a corresponding new version (BGA 1394). He explained that since Joseph Haydn had already harmonized the melody in one voice, it had no value for him in this form. It is not known whether Beethoven fulfilled Thomson’s request. Since Thomson did not publish any such harmonization by Beethoven, it is more likely that Beethoven did not create the two additional voices requested.
In the letter of 23rd November 1819, Thomson also included two pieces by Haydn, requesting that Beethoven add two voices. Only one harmonization by Beethoven is preserved, no. 22. Beethoven sent it to Edinburgh after 14th June 1820. There is no trace of the second harmonization.
Thomson published only part of Beethoven’s harmonizations in his folk song collections. During Beethoven’s lifetime, no. 16 and no. 19 were first published in 1822 in Volume 2 of Melodies of Scotland, and then nos. 8–10, 12, 13, 17, and 22 appeared in Volume 6 of Melodies of Scotland in 1825 (no. 22, however, under Haydn’s name, as Beethoven had only added two voices to Haydn’s harmonization). Posthumously, no. 4 appeared in 1839 in the 5th edition of 20 Scottish Melodies and nos. 11, 15, and 18 in a subsequent edition of Volume 6 of Melodies of Scotland in 1841. Nos. 1–3, 5–7, 14, 20, and 21 remained unpublished until the release of the AGA.
| Title | Author of the Text | Tempo | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | — (without title and text) | Andante espressivo | Melody sent by Thomson without lyrics | |
| II | Erin! oh Erin | Thomas Moore (1779–1852) | Andante amoroso | |
| III | O Mary, ye’s be clad in silk | Anonymous | Andante quasi allegretto | |
| IV | Highland Harry | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Allegretto spiritoso | Anonymous refrain |
| V | Oh onochri, oh | Anonymous | Andante lamentabile | |
| VI | Red gleams the sun | Robert Couper (1750–1818) | Andantino quasi allegretto | |
| VII | Sir Johnie Cope | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Marcia. Allegretto spiritoso e semplice. | |
| VIII | Sweet Annie frae the sea beach came | John Hoadley (†1776) | Andante affettuoso | Trio. In the original edition replaced with Byron's Lochnagar. |
| IX | Duncan Gray | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Allegretto | Trio |
| X | She’s fair and fause | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Andantino espressivo assai | Trio. In the original edition replaced with The Hero May Perish by W. Smyth. |
| XI | Auld lang syne | R. Burns (1st anonymous stanza) | Allegretto | Trio |
| XII | Dark was the morn | Anne Hunter (1742–1821) | Andante con moto quasi allegretto | Trio |
| XIII | Low down in the broom | James Carnegie (ca. 1745) | Andantino quasi Allegretto | Trio. In the original edition replaced with The Lavrock by R. Burns. |
| XIV | From thee, Eliza, I must go | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Allegretto | Trio |
| XV | Polly Stewart | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Andante più tosto Allegretto | |
| XVI | Charlie is my darling | Anonymous | - | Trio |
| XVII | Up! quit thy bower | Joanna Baillie (1762–1851) | - | Trio |
| XVIII | Glencoe | Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) | Andante espressivo | Trio |
| XIX | The banner of Buccleuch | Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) | Andantino quasi Allegretto | Terzetto. Text identical to No. 4, chorus anonymous. |
| XX | Highlander’s lament | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Espressivo | "Lied mit dreistimmigem Refrain" |
| XXI | Mark yonder pomp | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Andante con motoe con espressione | |
| XXII | Bonnie wee thing | Robert Burns (1759–1796) | Andante amoroso quasi Allegretto |
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.
