As Beethoven was writing folksong settings, George Thomson was packaging them in collections and attempting to sell them, but not with as much success as he had hoped. In June 1818 Thomson proposed that Beethoven adapt some of the folksongs as instrumentals. Apparently Scotland was home to many flutists, so Thomson requested that these pieces be written for piano with optional flute. Barry Cooper (“Beethoven,” p. 286) writes:
“Each piece consists of an original harmonization followed by three, four or five variations. There is usually a short coda, and sometimes also a brief linking passage before the final variation. The flute part is cunningly contrived so that when it is performed it sounds absolutely essential, but when it is omitted the texture still seems complete.”
Beethoven completed his National Airs with Variations in early 1819. They were published in Britain, and later published in Austria in two groups: six as Opus 105, and ten as Opus 107. They can be played solely on the piano or with optional flute or violin.
Of the six Opus 105 National Airs with Variations, the third is identified as “Air Autrichien” (French for “Austrian”) and the others as “Air Écossais,” which is French for “Scottish.” Beethoven tended to refer to any folk tune from the British Isles as Scottish.
The airs are based on folk tunes, but the names of those folk tunes are not identified in the score. They are popularly known under various names:
1. “The Cottage Maid”
2. “Of Noble Stock was Shinkin” or “Von edlem Geschlecht war Shinkin”
3. “A Schüsserl und a Reindel”
4. “Sad and Luckless was the Season” or “The Last Rose of Summer”
5. “Put Round the Bright Wine” or “Chilling O’Guiry”
6. “English Bulls” or “Paddy Whack”
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6 National Airs with Variations (Opus 105), 1818–19
As the poster of this video indicates, the ripped LP had some audible damage, but an animated score accompanies this studio recording.
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6 National Airs with Variations (Opus 105), 1818–19
Pianist Evgenia Rubinova plays the complete set without flute accompaniment in the order 3, 4, 1, 6, 2, 5. Notice the fugal passage at the end of “The Cottage Maid”!
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6 National Airs with Variations (Opus 105), 1818–19
“The Last Rose of Summer” (Number 4) is the most popular of the set. Here it is played by flutist Raffaele Trevisani and Paola Girardi in Milan.
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6 National Airs with Variations (Opus 105), 1818–19
“The Last Rose of Summer” with Michael Faust and Sheila Arnold in Bonn, followed by a popular air from the Opus 107 set.