WoO 201 Ich bin bereit…. Amen!.
WoO 201 “Ich bin bereit…. Amen!”. Hess 282 – Thayer 298.
Beginning of a Double Fugue, early June 1818.
First published in the Thayer catalogue (1865). It appears at the end of a letter from early June 1818 to Beethoven’s friend Vincenz Hauschka, who, on behalf of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, had proposed that Beethoven compose an oratorio (La Vittoria della Croce, see Biamonti 810).
[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 201 Ich bin bereit! – Amen Zwei Notenscherze (C-dur) nach eigenen Texten Widmung; — NGA XII/2 (Hess 282) AGA –
Origin and Publication: Annotated in a letter to Vinzenz Hauschka written after 19 May 1818. The first edition appeared posthumously in 1865 in Alexander W. Thayer’s Chronological Index. As early as November 1815, the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna had requested an oratorio from Beethoven (BGA 898). However, the project did not come to fruition. In May 1818, a new attempt was made, and Beethoven was commissioned to compose the oratorio Der Sieg des Kreuzes, based on a text by Joseph Karl Bernard (see Biamonti 810).
In his letter to Vinzenz Hauschka (see WoO 172), accountant of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde who had delivered the request, Beethoven expressed his agreement with two lines on “Ich bin bereit”. Beethoven refers to him in the letter as “Bestes Erstes Vereins-Mitglied Der Musick-Feinde des österreichischen Kaiserstaats” (BGA 1259). The project dragged on for years, also because Bernard did not complete the libretto until 1823. Beethoven was not satisfied, and the oratorio was ultimately never composed (Ladenburger/Oratorium).
Sources:
Transcription: A-Wgm, A 84/32, letter to Vinzenz Hauschka (BGA 1259).
Dating: after 19 May 1818.
2 sheets; WoO 201 on sheet 1 and sheet 2v.
Paper: vertical format, trimmed at top, bottom, and right, 22 × 19 cm, hand-ruled lines.
Provenance: Vinzenz Hauschka → Leopold von Sonnleithner → acquired in 1844.
First edition: 1865, Musikalischer Spaß, in: Thayer 1865, p. 172, addendum to no. 298.
Letter document: BGA 1259.
Literature: Ladenburger/Oratorium.
Vincent Houška or Hauschka (21 January 1766, Mies, Bohemia – 1840, Vienna) was a composer and musician, mandolinist, and cellist. He was talented enough to tour Europe and give concerts. Hauschka was the son of the master of Mies. At the age of eight, he moved with his parents to Prague, where his father became a schoolmaster. He studied music and learned to play the mandolin as his first instrument. He joined the choir at St. Stephen’s Cathedral and later received systematic training from Josef Seeger and Ferdinand Laube.
Hauschka devoted himself to the cello and mandolin, making remarkable progress on both instruments, and continued his cello studies with Christ, one of the most celebrated Bohemian virtuosos. At sixteen, he joined the orchestra of Count Thun and remained in his service until the Count’s death two years later, when the orchestra was dissolved. He subsequently toured Austria and Germany, visiting Karlsbad, Dresden, and other major cities, where his performances on both instruments were highly praised.
Towards the end of 1792, he settled in Vienna, where his public performances attracted considerable attention. After living in Vienna for several years, he gave up music as a profession and accepted a government position. Following his appointment, his public appearances became rare, though he remained actively interested in the arts. He was one of the founders of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, as well as of the Concert Spirituel. He continued to compose for his beloved instruments, but most of his works were not published. His main manuscripts include nocturnes and quintets for mandolin, viola, and cello, as well as cello concertos and church compositions.
