Over the course of 1825, Beethoven wrote 11 short canons, mostly in letters or as souvenirs for people who visited him. These later canons are increasingly well documented and shed light on Beethoven’s life and activities, so I’ll generally be devoting an entire day to each.
The text of Beethoven’s WoO 188 canon “Gott ist eine feste Burg” (God is a mighty fortress) is credited to Beethoven himself, although it is mightily reminiscent of the Martin Luther hymn “Ein feste Burg is unser Gott,” made even more famous by the Bach cantata.
Beethoven wrote this canon in the album of Nicolaus Friedrich von Düsterlohe, a Prussian major from Courland, currently part of Latvia. He was visiting Vienna for a couple months in late 1824 and early 1825, and had offered copying services to Beethoven.
Beethoven dated the canon 12 January 1825 on Düsterlohe’s departure from Vienna, and included the message “Handle! Sie, die Wissenschaft machte nie Glückliche” (“Take action! Knowledge on its own never made a person happy”).
The autograph is reproduced in facsimile preceding page 29 of this 1907–1908 issue of Die Musik. The canon is transcribed at the top of page 29. The segno symbol above the word “feste” indicates how the music is aligned to form the canon.
The canon also appears on page 92 in the fifth volume of a 1908 German edition of Beethoven’s letters.
The canon is also shown in a footnote of Vol. V, p. 170 of a 1908 German edition of Thayer’s biography of Beethoven.
Musically, the most interesting aspect of this canon is how the first four notes quote the “Credo, Credo” motif from Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Day 327):
#Beethoven250 Day 342
Canon “Gott ist eine feste Burg” (WoO 188), 1825
A studio recording of this 15-second two-part canon.