Adelaide (Beethoven)
The art song Adelaide was set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven around 1795–1796 with piano accompaniment as opus 46. It is written in B flat major for soprano or tenor voice. In the 19th century Eduard Hanslick called the song "... the only song by Beethoven whose loss would leave a void in the emotional life of our nation people ..."
Formal aspects
Although the text consists of four rhythmically identical stanzas, each with the exclamation Adelaide! close, Beethoven does not compose a pure verse song, but for the first time uses elements of the well- composed form . This is particularly evident in the last stanza, where the tempo changes from larghetto to allegro molto .
In his analysis, Charles Rosen also points to similarities with the sonata main clause form .
- Exposure 1st stanza: The main theme begins in the key of B flat major , and remains with pure triads and isolated seventh chords (F7) in the usual cadre function levels of dominant (F major) , subdominant (E flat major) , and the minor degrees the second and third degree (C minor and D minor) .
- Exposition 2nd stanza: modulation to the dominant F major (the cadence closes in F major).
- Implementation in the 3rd stanza: The material of the exposition is led through several keys.
- Recapitulation in the 4th stanza: In the first bars ( Allegro molto ) return to B flat major, a more rapid resumption of the beginning of the exposition. In the note example below, the first line corresponds exactly to the corresponding notes from the Allegro .
The sonata form is of course not fulfilled in two ways: On the one hand, the development is not, as usual, a section of heightened tension, but rather relaxed. On the other hand, the second theme of the exposition is not taken up again in the recapitulation. Therefore, one can only say that Adelaide is strongly influenced by the sonata form, not that it is written in sonata form.
Design of the piano accompaniment
Beethoven's design of the piano part partly reflects the formal design based on the sonata movement form discussed above, but also the independent piano-technical instrumentation based on dramatic and text-related reasons.
In the first verse, the piano accompaniment is almost entirely in broken triads of the right hand in triplet eighth notes with sustained octaved bass notes of the left hand.
The second stanza alternates between triplet block chords of the right hand with bass notes - but also fifths or whole triads - of the left hand and the accompanying form of the first stanza. The second accompanying form appears darker due to its lower position. The bass of the left hand is more lively and kept in shorter note values than in the first verse and sometimes also brings independently descending figures in second steps . The alternation between these two accompanying forms is often motivated by the textual statement. More dramatic motifs such as “ in the reflecting flood ” are depicted with block chords, while “ in the sinking day gold vaults, in the realm of the stars ” the lighter accompanying form from verse one is used.
The third stanza is similar to the second. The piano accompaniment, which is differently adapted to the respective statement of contrasting text passages, becomes particularly clear here in the contrast of the passages " Rushing waves - and nightingales flute ".
The fourth stanza of the song initially stands out clearly from the preceding with chords in quarters or halves and occasional ascending triad breaks. For the listener, a clear break within the previously rather triplet-like flowing course is clearly audible. In the further course, the accompanying formulas familiar from verses one and two are used again.
text
The text is an early romantic poem by Friedrich von Matthisson (1761–1831):
Your friend strolls lonely in the spring garden,
Mildly enveloped by the lovely magic light,
That trembles through swaying blossom branches,
Adelaide!
In the reflecting tide, in the snow of the Alps,
In the golden clouds of the sinking day,
In the realm of the stars your image shines,
Adelaide!
Whispering evening breeze in the delicate arbor, whispering
silver bells of corn in the grass, rustling
waves and nightingales flute,
Adelaide!
Once, oh wonder! blossoms on my grave,
A flower from the ashes of my heart.
Clearly shimmers on every purple leaf:
Adelaide!
reception
It was not until August 4, 1800 that Beethoven sent his setting to Friedrich von Matthisson and thanked him emphatically for the poem: “You regard the dedication partly as a sign of the pleasure that your A.'s composition afforded me, partly as a sign of my gratitude and is respect for the pleasure Seelige what ever always made me their poetry and still do. " . In his comments on the final edition of his writings, Matthisson praised Beethoven's setting: “Several Tonkünstler inspired this little lyrical fantasy with music, but none, in my deepest conviction, put the text in a deeper shadow than the ingenious Ludwig von Beethoven against the melody zu Wien. ” The work was very popular in the 19th and 20th centuries and has been reissued repeatedly. Various composers, including Sigismund Thalberg and Franz Liszt , who published three versions of the song alone, arranged the song for solo piano.
Web links
- Adelaide : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project .
- Beethoven's letter to Matthisson (1800) .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quoted from page 3 of the booklet on the CD Beethoven - Lieder - Adelaide, Zärtliche Liebe, An die ferne Geliebte (with Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Jörg Demus), Deutsche Grammophon, 1966, reissued in the Masterpieces series , GBM 447 921-2.
- ↑ Ludwig von Beethoven, Correspondence. Complete edition. Edited on behalf of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn by Sieghard Brandenburg, 7 volumes, vol. 1: 1783–1807, Munich 1996, no. 47.
- ^ Friedrich Matthisson, Schriften. Last hand edition in 8 volumes, Vol. 1, Zurich 1825, p. 256 (Friedrich von Matthisson, Schriften. Last hand edition. Vol. 1, Zurich 1825, digitized version of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich) .
- ^ "A Catalog of Early Printed Editions of the Works of L. v. Beethoven" , Kunitachi College of Music Library.