Exercises in Free Counterpoint, Hess 235 (1795) uncorrected (14 MB)

Exercises in Free Counterpoint, Hess 235 (1795) These 26 exercises in free counterpoint come from the very end of Beethoven's studies with Albrechtsberger (about March 1795, at the best estimates of Gustav Nottebohm, Douglas Johnson and Julia Ronge). They are found on leaves 5 and 6 of bundle 1 of autograph A 75 at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, together with the exercises in strict counterpoint (Hess 234), most of which come from the beginning of Beethoven's studies with Albrechtsberger. Leaves 5 and 6 are however from a later time, based on the different paper type of leaves 1 through 4 and the different brace that Beethoven uses (with diagonal slashes at top and bottom, instead of simple parallel lines). On leaves 5 and 6, interspersed among the exercises in free counterpoint are 21 more exercises in strict counterpoint, which apparently were done for purposes of comparison. All of the exercises, both free and strict, found on leaves 5 and 6 are set against the same cantus firmus in F. They consist of ten exercises for two voices (that is, the cantus firmus and one other voice), nine exercises for three voices, and seven exercises for four voices. For the two-voice and three-voice exercises, the cantus firmus is almost always in the tenor voice; however, in the four-voice exercises Beethoven moves the cantus firmus from voice to voice. For purposes of this soundfile, we have as with Hess 233 and 234 always set the cantus firmus on the organ, and the countpoint voices are members of string, brass and woodwind quartets. All but three of these exercises were previously published before the 2014 edition of Beethoven's Studies was published by the Beethovenhaus and G. Henle. However, many of them were only available in an edition edited by Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried, who took significant liberties with Beethoven's texts. This is the first time that the entire set has been available with the correct music, and as such is another world premiere for The Unheard Beethoven. We present soundfiles for both Beethoven's original, and a second set that incorporates Albrechtsberger's corrections.

Hess: 235

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