Musicologica Austriaca (Mar 2022)
In Search of a Lost Composition by Beethoven: The Equale in A-LId-49
Abstract
It is well known that in 1812 Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Three Equali for Four Trombones (WoO 30) for the Linz Cathedral Kapellmeister Franz Xaver Glöggl. A letter from Glöggl to Robert Schumann, however, suggests that the composer originally composed four pieces. An examination of the autograph score of WoO 30 (D-B, Mus.ms.autogr.Beethoven, L.v., Grasnick 9), held by the Staatsbibliothek Berlin, seems to confirm this: one page of the manuscript most likely became detached.In 2018, an anonymous example of an equale turned up in the Diocesan Archives in Linz. Although the newly found manuscript (A-Lld-49) is not in Beethoven’s hand, comparison with additions written on the autograph of WoO 30 identifies it to be that of Glöggl. The Linz source is a working sketch of an arrangement for three vocal parts made from a four-part trombone movement. One possible scenario is that Glöggl, who is not otherwise known as a composer, used Beethoven’s presumed fourth equale for this purpose. This is indicated by aspects such as key relationships and the identical, unusual key designation of all the compositions in question. It is more likely, however, that the rediscovered piece—a simple chorale—belongs to an older class of repertoire.
