Ludwig van Beethoven, Skizzenblatt zum Wehrmannslied "Österreich über alles" von Heinrich Joseph von Collin Unv 18, zu "Mignon" op. 75,1 sowie zum Klavierkonzert Nr. 5 op. 73, Autograph

Lied written out of anger because of noise?

Politically-speaking, 1809 was a very eventful and significant year. Napoleon was on the rampage in Europe and on 10 April he began the war against Austria. The French pushed forward inexorably and on 10 May were just outside Vienna. The Emperor's family had already left the city at the beginning of May 1809 (and only returned in January 1810). During the night from 11 to 12 May Vienna was bombarded by the French and on 13 May the city surrendered. The war between Austria and France only ended on 14 October with the signing of the Treaty of Schönbrunn. Although Beethoven was still considering the offer of a post as musical director in Kassel at the court of Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte at the beginning of 1809, he lost all respect for the French emperor during the year. On the contrary he became a very strong national patriot. The sketch for Collin's Wehrmannslied on the leaf shown here is connected with this. Heinrich Joseph Collin (1771-1811) was a lawyer in the royal finance department. In addition he also worked as a publisher and writer of patriotic poetry. Collin was persecuted by the French on account of his 16 "Lieder österreichischer Wehrmänner" ("Lieder by Austrian soldiers"), which he wrote in 1809. These Lieder were extremely popular with the Austrians and were set to music by many Viennese composers. Beethoven made sketches for one of the Lieder "Östreich über alles" ("Austria above all") in many different places, obviously intending it for choir and orchestra (although he did not complete it). In the "Biographischen Notizen über Ludwig van Beethoven", Franz Gerhard Wegeler and Ferdinand Ries wrote in 1838 that at the time of the siege and bombardment of Vienna the composer had stayed in the cellar of his brother Kaspar's lodgings with thick pillows pressed over his ears. But his hearing had still dramatically declined due to the noise of the shooting. People therefore often connect Beethoven's intention to set Collin's patriotic Lied to music with his anger over the French bombardment. The relevant sketches are thus assigned to the end of the second quarter of 1809. However the sketchbook "Landsberg 5" also contains sketches for Collin's "Wehrmannslied". Due to the sketches around them they can be dated to March 1809. Thus the sketches on this leaf would probably have been made in the first quarter of 1809 - independent of the bombardment of Vienna. (J.R.)