Like “Opferlied” (Day 340), Beethoven’s “Bundeslied” (“Song of Friendship,” Opus 122) has a complex compositional history. When Beethoven speaks of these two works in letters in the early 1820s, they are usually referred to as a pair, although they are quite different in tone.
Beethoven first sketched “Bundeslied” as a song around 1795. He set it for chorus in 1822 and then seems to have reworked it two years later. The final 1824 version calls for two solo voices and three choral voices accompanied by two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns.
The text of Beethoven’s “Bundeslied” is a poem that Goethe wrote in 1789 that begins “In allen guten Studen” (“On every happy occasion”). Here’s an early rhyming translation, page 45.
Schubert set this same poem in 1815 (D. 258).
Some confusion persists about the poem of “Bundeslied” because Goethe wrote an earlier version in 1775 for a wedding. Here’s an English biography of Goethe that describes the occasion for the original on page 236:
The 1775 version of Goethe’s “Bundeslied” begins with the line “Den künftgen Tag und Stunden” and is here on the LiederNet Archive site with optional English translation.
In 1789, Goethe revised his earlier poem to remove specific references to the wedding and to make the poem more generalized. Six stanzas were reduced to five. Here’s the version that Schubert and Beethoven set to music.
Odd theories abound concerning the background and purpose of “Bundeslied.” The usually reliable Paul Reid in The Beethoven Song Companion (p. 82) incorrectly cites the 1775 date and then associates the poem (and song) with exclusively male gatherings:
Goethe’s poem was written in 1775, during the age of sentimentality, when it was fashionable to express one’s love for one’s fellow men (women were generally excluded from key gatherings) in effusive terms. The cult of friendship led inevitably to the formation of numerous groups of young men, often devoted to high ideals and taking an established older man as mentor.
Maynard Solomon asserts in “The Masonic Thread” (Late Beethoven, p. 151) that Beethoven’s setting of “Bundeslied” was intended for Masonic purposes:
Beethoven wrote only a few works that were arguably intended for actual use in the lodges. One such is his setting of Goethe’s “Bundeslied,” for solo voices, chorus, and winds, op. 122 (1797–1824), a poem that is identified as Masonic in the editions of Goethe’s collected works and heads the list of his Masonic writings in the encyclopedias of Freemasonry. Indeed, one authority asserted that “Bundeslied” is included in almost all Masonic songbooks and sung in virtually every German-speaking lodge.
Yet, the Masonic texts cited by Solomon in footnotes do not mention Beethoven’s setting.
Descriptions of Beethoven’s “Bundeslied” that associate it with exclusively male gatherings seem at odds with Beethoven’s bouncy joyful setting. In the publication by the Mainz-based Schott Brothers in 1825, all the vocal parts are in the treble clef, and in practice the piece is often sung by women.
The Schott Brothers also published the music magazine Cäcilia. At least three times in 1825 and 1826, Cäcilia ran expectedly laudatory reviews of “Bundeslied.”
In Cäcilia Issue 11 (1825), “Bundeslied” is recommended for “sociable vocal singers” whose friends will thank Beethoven and Göthe for their collaboration.
In Cäcilia Issue 17 (1826), “Bundeslied” is characterized as an “excellent social song”.
In Cäcilia Issue 20 (1826), “Bundeslied” is cited for its joviality: “Such an easy, comprehensible, thoroughly pleasing melody is perfect for intimate friends”, particularly considering the modest instrumental requirements.
If “Bundeslied” eventually became associated with exclusively male gatherings or was even sung in Masonic lodges, that is certainly not how the song was positioned when the Schott Brothers first published it.
#Beethoven250 Day 341
“Bundeslied” for Voices and Chamber Orchestra (Opus 122), 1823–24
You might encounter ads at the beginning and end of this studio recording by Michael Tilson Thomas.
#Beethoven250 Day 341
“Bundeslied” for Voices and Chamber Orchestra (Opus 122), 1823–24
A live performance with both men and women with piano accompaniment.
#Beethoven250 Day 341
“Bundeslied” for Voices and Chamber Orchestra (Opus 122), 1823–24
A live performance of stanzas 1, 4, and 5 sung by women with piano accompaniment.
#Beethoven250 Day 341
“Bundeslied” for Voices and Chamber Orchestra (Opus 122), 1823–24
A wonderful performance with kids singing remotely in the Czech Republic.