On 20 February 1816, Gioachino Rossini's comic opera “The Barber of Seville” premiered in Rome. It remains one of the most popular operas of all time. It is likely that Rossini composed the music in just three weeks.
In February and March 1816, Beethoven composed six folksong settings that constitute Group VIII in Barry Cooper’s chronology and cataloging. Beethoven eventually published the first five in his Opus 108 collection of Scottish folksongs. The sixth is a Cossack / Ukrainian melody.
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Setting of “Could this Ill World have been contriv’d” CFS VIII/2 (Opus 108, No. 16), 1816
Starting at 10:32 in this video, this text by James Hogg contemplates a world without the “sweet bewitching face” of women.
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Setting of “The Lovely Lass of Inverness” CFS VIII/4 (Opus 108, No. 8), 1816
An ad may precede this recording session of Ian Bostridge singing of a woman who has lost her father and three brothers.
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Setting of “Schöne Minka, ich muss scheiden” CFS VIII/6 (WoO 158a, No. 16), 1816
The video quality is terrible, but the vocals are lovely in this “Cosack air” that begins “Lovely Minka, I have to leave!”
On 1 January 1816, George Thomson sent Beethoven a letter proposing that he expand the range of folksong settings to countries beyond the British Isles. Barry Cooper quotes this letter in his indispensable book Beethoven’s Folksong Settings, p. 25:
“I very much want to obtain some specimens of vocal music from the different nations of Europe — from Germany, Poland, Russia, Tyrol, Venice, and Spain; that is, two or three airs from each of the countries. I am not speaking of the compositions of skilled living authors, but of purely national melodies, stamped with the musical character of each country, and which are cherished by the people, like the Scottish and Irish airs which I have sent you.”
Some of these were obtained by Thomson himself, but Beethoven also was able to find several from the then scant collections available in Vienna, as well as “orally through Beethoven’s Polish, Italian, and other contacts.” (Ibid, p. 67)
Group IX of Beethoven’s Folksong Settings contains Russian, Tyrolean, Spanish, Venetian, Portuguese, Austrian / German, Swiss / German, and Polish songs. Many of these were later catalogued in the WoO 158a collection. Several are available in YouTube performances.
#Beethoven250 Day 293
Setting of “Akh, rečen’ki, rečen’ki” CFS IX/2 (WoO 158a, No. 14), 1816
This Russian song address a little river to “Soothe my weeping, and summon my beloved! Why does my lover not hurry to me, what can be keeping him?”
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Setting of “Una paloma blanca” CFS IX/5 (WoO 158a, No. 19), 1816
This Spanish bolero begins “A dove white as snow has pierced me in my breast; how it pains me” and the soprano coos appropriately.
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Setting of “Tiranilla Española” CFS IX/7 (WoO 158a, No. 21), 1816
This duet seems to refer to an incident during the Napoleonic Wars in which a Spanish tyranness sets sail from Cádiz but is captured by the French.
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Setting of “Yo no queiero embarcarme” CVS IX/9 (WoO 158a, No. 11), 1816
Barbara Hendricks sings this Portuguese folksong with Spanish lyrics about uncertain love.
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Setting of “Seus lindos alhos” CFS IX/10 (WoO 158a, No. 12), 1816
Starting at 2:55 in this video, this Portuguese duet tells of “Her lovely eyes” that with a glance “deeply wounded my heart.” A job for Cupid, perhaps?
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Setting of “Horch auf, mein Liebchen” CFS IX/11 (WoO 158a, No. 2), 1816
Heinzenfeld’s song from Wenzel Müller’s 1793 singspiel “Das neue Sonntagskind” (Sunday’s New Child) is a lullaby to a newborn girl.