Official title: WoO 158 29 Lieder verschiedener Völker für eine, zwei oder drei Singstimmen mit Begleitung von Klavier, Violine und Violoncello Widmung: — NGA XI/3 AGA/SBG siehe Konkordanz S. 372

Creation and Publication: Beethoven composed these songs in several stages between 1816 and 1820. In the spring of 1816, he completed the first group (Nos. 2–6, 9–16, 18–21, 23, 27), followed by additional songs in September of the same year (Nos. 7, 8, 17, 22, 24, 25). Songs No. 1 and 26 were composed at the beginning of 1817, while Nos. 28 and 29 appear in a letter dated 18 March 1820 (BGA 1372) — formerly Hess 133 and 134.

The first editions of the songs were published posthumously: in 1860, songs Nos. 26–27 appeared with Peters in Leipzig and Berlin, and Ewer & Co. in London; in 1865, Nos. 28–29 appeared in the Niederrheinische Musik-Zeitung. Song No. 19 was published in 1902 as a supplement to the journal Die Musik, No. 17, in an article by Joseph Schmidt-Görg. Numbers 1–23 were published by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig in 1941, and Nos. 24–25 were published only in 1971 as part of the SBG by Breitkopf & Härtel in Wiesbaden (by Willy Hess).

Starting in 1810, Beethoven harmonized melodies for the Scottish music enthusiast and publisher George Thomson (1757–1851). Many of these arrangements later appeared in various collections of Welsh, Scottish, or Irish songs. On 1 January 1816, Thomson sent Beethoven new melodies, including what would become WoO 158 No. 16, requesting further arrangements of continental songs: “Je veux beaucoup obtenir quelques échantillons de la musique vocale des différentes nations de l’Europe — de l’Allemagne, de la Pologne, de la Russie, du Tyrol, de Venise et d’Espagne, c’est-à-dire deux ou trois airs de chacun de ces pays. Je ne parle pas des compositions des savants auteurs vivants, mais des mélodies purement nationales, marquées du caractère de la musique de chaque pays et qui sont chéries du peuple, comme les airs écossais et irlandais que je vous ai envoyés. Je voudrais que ces airs fussent d’un style agréable et assez régulier pour être uni à la poésie.” (BGA 874)

Beethoven quickly set to work on the first series of continental melodies. On 2 May 1816, he delivered WoO 158 Nos. 2–6, 9–16, 18–21, 23, and 27 to the Fries bank for forwarding to Thomson (BGA 931, note 1). Thomson received the compositions on 8 July 1816 (BGA 946). Pleased with the work, he asked Beethoven to harmonize four more continental melodies from Sweden, Denmark, Sicily, and Calabria. If Beethoven did not wish to work on the Danish or Calabrian songs, he could substitute another Sicilian and a Tyrolean song. Thomson also sent seven additional pieces, including those that became the basis for WoO 158 Nos. 24 and 25.

On 20 October 1816, Thomson reported his frustration at being unable to add English texts to the continental songs: “parsque la mesure et le style singulier de ces airs ne s’accordent pas, ni avec la forme ni avec le génie de la poésie anglaise” (BGA 984). He therefore suggested that Beethoven rework the arrangements into piano “Ouvertures mélés,” creating six potpourri-like overtures from the 19 melodies.

Finally, on 20 December 1816, Thomson canceled the order for five of the seven songs sent on 8 July 1816 (BGA 1018). Beethoven had already completed the harmonizations in September 1816 but had not yet sent them due to serious illness, as he explained to Thomson on 18 January 1817 (BGA 1070). To solve the text issue, Beethoven suggested that Thomson supply prose instead of English verse. The finished arrangements of these additional seven songs were sent to Thomson, who received them in March 1817 (including WoO 158 Nos. 24 and 25), and the four new continental songs in the summer of the same year (WoO 158 Nos. 7, 8, 17, 22). Beethoven delivered the realizations of Nos. 1 and 26 to Fries on 26 February 1817, along with other arrangements.

This work completed Beethoven’s harmonizations of continental melodies for Thomson. Although Thomson received them, he never published them. Songs Nos. 28 and 29 are unrelated to Thomson. Beethoven sent them to Nikolaus Simrock in Bonn on 18 March 1820 to reimburse postage costs: “da ich weiß, daß die Kaufleute das Postgeld gerne sparen, so füge ich hier österreichische Volkslieder als Wechsel bei, womit sie schalten u. walten können nach Belieben, die Begleitung ist von mir — ich denke eine Volkslieder-Jagd ist besser als eine Menschen-Jagd der so gepriesenen Helden” (BGA 1372).