Elegischer Gesang Explained

"Elegischer Gesang" ("Elegiac Song"), Op. 118, is a short work in E major by Ludwig van Beethoven scored for string quartet and four mixed voices.^[1] The text is taken from the poem "Bey der Kunde von Jacobi's Tod" by Johann Christoph Friedrich Haug (1761–1829), written in honor of the death of philosopher and poet Johann Georg Jacobi (1740–1814). Although it was not published until 1826, it dates from 1814^[2] and is dedicated to Beethoven's friend and patron Baron Johann Baptiste Pasqualati von Osterberg (1777–1830), whose wife Eleonore died three years earlier at the age of 24. It is one of Beethoven's least known works and is not often performed or recorded.

Text

The text has been variously identified as anonymous, or attributed to Ignaz Franz Castelli (1781–1862). However, an examination of Haug's poem reveals him as the author.^[3] It is a compilation of the first line of stanza three, and half of line three and line four of stanza four.

Sanft, wie du lebtest,hast du vollendet,zu heilig für den Schmerz!Kein Auge wein' obdes himmlischen Geistes Heimkehr.Gentle as you lived,have you completedtoo sacred for the pain!No eye weep for theHeavenly Spirit's homecoming.As gentle as you have lived,have you died,too holy for sorrow!Let no eye shed a tearfor the spirit's heavenly homecoming.Life gently touched thee,And passed as softly.Too holy to know pain!No eye could weepfor this heavenly spirit, when homeward turning.

External links

• • Fragment of a sketch for the middle section of Opus 118 in Beethoven's handwriting, Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI Digital Collections)

Notes and References

1. Book: Byrne, Lorraine. Goethe: musical poet, musical catalyst: proceedings of the Conference hosted by the Department of Music, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 26 & 27 March 2004. 2004. Peter Lang. 284. 978-1-904505-10-5.
2. Web site: Program notes May 29, 2008. Detroit Symphony Orchestra. February 3, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221080932/http://dso.org/upload_files/content_pdfs/res/backstage/history/0708_programnotes/ElegischerGesang.pdf. February 21, 2014. dead.
3. See "Bey der Kunde von Jacobi's Tod" (1814) by J. C. F. Haug, LiederNet Archive