Lewis Lockwood writes:
“Beethoven’s interest in Bach, which increased greatly around 1814, coincided with a growing contemporary awareness of Bach as more than a legendary organist, master of tonal counterpoint and harmony, and composer of difficult keyboard works. More musicians were coming to understand that Bach’s greatness lay not only in the formal and contrapuntal logic of his writing but in its blending of logic and expressivity. When Beethoven in 1801 referred to Bach as ‘the immortal god of harmony,’ he could base his reverence on knowledge mainly of keyboard works. By the time he came to know the B-minor Mass and other works in later years he was ready to challenge Bach on Bach’s own compositional ground, that of linear counterpoint. He felt impelled to master fugal writing in a way that respected and tried to match Bach’s mastery but also entailed the effort to give his own fugal movements what he called a ‘poetic’ dimension, making them part and parcel of his new sense of himself not merely as a composer but as a ‘tone poet’ (Tondicter). He conceived his later fugal movements and works not primarily as demonstrations of technique (though they succeeded in that as well) but as part of his attempt in these years to use time-honored contrapuntal fugal forms and textures to write ‘progressive’ works and serve the cause of artistic freedom — little as the general public around 1820, lost in a craze for Rossini, could understand this.” (“Beethoven,” p. 373)
In addition to the Opus 104 arrangement for string quintet (Day 304), Beethoven wrote two additional string quintet pieces towards the end of 1817. Both are quite short, and both involve fugues.
#Beethoven250 Day 305
Prelude and Fragment of Fugue in D Minor for String Quintet (Hess 40), 1817
Possibly a sketch for a string quintet movement, the Adagio Prelude is complete but the Allegro fugue cuts off abruptly.
Published after Beethoven’s death as Opus 137, the Fugue in D for String Quintet is dated 28 November 1917. Beethoven wrote it specifically for a projected collection of his works (never realized in his lifetime) that would also include some new compositions.
#Beethoven250 Day 305
Fugue in D Major for String Quintet (Opus 137), 1817
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