Father's Morgengesang as a way of conveying an image
Ludwig van Beethoven's father Johann was, like his grandfather, a professional musician in the electoral court orchestra in Bonn. Johann van Beethoven was first and foremost a tenor but he also gave singing and piano lessons on the side. Ludwig also received his first music lessons from his father. The copy of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Oratorio "Morgengesang" ("Morning song") was perhaps a showpiece of Johann van Beethoven's. His son, Ludwig van Beethoven, carefully preserved the manuscript. At the top of the first page he wrote "von meinem Theuren Vater geschrieben" (written by my dear father). Is it a tribute to the affection he felt for his father? In the nineteenth century Johann van Beethoven was portrayed as a drunkard and despot, an image which still clings to him today. Is this picture compatible with the dedication to a "dear father"? The truth lies somewhere in-between. Beethoven's father was not the brutal thug which he was made out to be (the composer's fame shone even more brightly against this background). It is just as certain that Beethoven did not admire and love his father to the extent that the dedication might lead us to believe. Ludwig van Beethoven wanted to portray himself in a particular way. The title to a "dear father" is meant to convey an image that "people" had at the beginning of the nineteenth century and which Beethoven also wanted to live up to. (J.R.)
