Ludwig van Beethoven, Skizzenblätter "Bonn BH 110" zur Messe op. 123, Autograph

The beginnings of the Missa solemnis

The two loose leaves, that is two separate leaves from a pocket sketchbook, contain sketches for the Kyrie, Gloria and Credo of the Missa solemnis op. 123. As the content shows, there are parallels with folios 13v and 14r of the Wittgenstein sketchbook, one which Beethoven used at his desk. This is also in the Beethoven-Haus collection (HCB BSk 1) and contains the earliest sketches for the Mass. The sketches on the leaves shown here were made at the same time, in the spring or early summer of 1819. Although it can no longer be proved, both leaves appear to have been cut from a book: the left inner margins share the same profile. Yet neither the book from which they were removed nor details of their previous whereabouts are known. The Beethoven-Haus acquired the leaves in 1926 from Rothschild, an antiquarian dealer in Cologne. The owners prior to that remain unknown. (J.R.)