Hess 326 – Piccolo pezzo in stile di una fuga a 4 voci, in Do maggiore, 1803.  Quaderno Wielhorsky pagina 109. (Il pezzo è incompleto l’esposizione di 17 battute, seguito dalla parola “Schluss” ed altre 12 battute. I numeri Hess 324, 325 e 326 sono tratti dal Quaderno Wielhorsky).

Scrivono Mark Zimmer e Albert Willem Holsbergen sul fondamentale sito www.unheardbeethoven.org :

The draft for this playful little fugue can be found amongst the sketches for the oratorio “Christ on the Mountain of Olives” in the Wielhorsky sketchbook, and dates therefore from 1800-1801.

How fortunate that Beethoven’s counterpoint teacher, Albrechtsberger, never saw this fugue: no doubt it would have shortened his life considerably. Not only is the fugue subject answered in the subdominant rather than dominant (which Albrechtsberger seems to have more or less allowed) but there are also quite a few concealed fifths and octaves in Beethoven’s counterpoint. Immediately after the exposition Beethoven writes down the ending of the fugue. The middle section (essentially a three part stretto over the fugue subject) is provided by Willem.

All those who understand that music theory gives guidelines to help a composer in his difficult task rather than being a set of rules which have to be obeyed at all cost, will shrug their shoulders over the shortcomings of this fugue, and just delight in what was clearly on Beethoven’s mind: writing a fugue over an as unlikely fugue subject as one can imagine, and having sheer fun in doing so.

Ribadisce James Green:  Scrive James F. Green nel suo Nuovo Catalogo Hess : “Piccolo pezzo nello stile di una fruga a 4 voci, in do maggiore, pagina 109. [Il pezzo è incompleto. Abbiamo, per mano di Beethoven, l’esposizione della fuga (17 battute), seguita dalla parola “Schluss” e altre 12 battute. La parte centrale sembra essere andata perduta.]”