Recommended Sheet Music, Carus Beethoven Choral Collection

To celebrate the major Beethoven anniversary in 2020, Carus is expanding the repertoire of works available for mixed choirs. The Choral Collection Beethoven, edited by Jan Schumacher, contains attractive arrangements of Beethoven's music spanning three centuries, both secular and sacred, in a wide range of styles. Included in the collection is the choral-symphonic repertoire in versions with piano accompaniment, lesser-known unaccompanied works, and seldom-performed works including pieces from his incidental music. Even during his lifetime Beethoven was so admired that his contemporaries arranged his music for chorus (mainly the well known instrumental works). Some of these works were even performed at Beethoven's funeral. Additionally, subsequent generations of composers have also immersed themselves in Beethoven's output. For the upcoming anniversary Carus has also commissioned several contemporary composers to create choral arrangements of Beethoven's works. Editor Jan Schumacher has created an indispensable resource with this new collection for vocal ensembles, chamber choirs and in particular amateur choirs.

Thoughts from the Editor

Although he is not primarily thought of as a composer of vocal music, Beethoven was equally used to composing for both voices and instruments. Carus have kindly allowed us to reproduce some thoughts on the subject by the editor Jan Schumacher:

"The widely-held prejudice that “he could not write for the voice” adheres to few composers as much as to Ludwig van Beethoven. This may be due to the fact that his place in music history is primarily as a revolutionary symphonist and creator of incomparable chamber music works such as the string quartets and piano sonatas. But to imply indiscriminately that he had no idea about the human voice or did not know how to write for chorus is to draw the wrong conclusion."

"...The Elegischer Gesang (Elegiac Song) op. 118... a short, restrained choral movement with string accompaniment... Musically condensed phrases of great intensity await the listener, which again and again lead into moments of softness and gentleness. The Elegischer Gesang may not be one of Beethoven’s major works, but it is a jewel well worth discovering. Together with the vocal and instrumental parts a piano part has been handed down which can be used as an alternative to string quartet. The Elegischer Gesang is included in the Beet­hoven Choral Collection in this version... In addition, it is worth taking a look at arrangements of Beethoven’s works of a type common at the time. It is striking that the models for the arrangements are almost exclusively taken from Beethoven’s instrumental works – no wonder when we bear in mind that his slow movements always have a noble, cantabile quality..."

"Equally exciting are the discoveries of the Drei Aequale (originally for brass)... and the Kyrie (after the first movement of the “Moonlight Sonata”) and Agnus Dei by Gottlob Benedict Bierey. Inspired by these arrangements, we commissioned further arrangements for the Beethoven Choral Collection... Leading contemporary composers such as Heribert Breuer, Gunther Martin Göttsche, John Høybye, Giacomo Mezzalira, Christoph Müller or Peter Schindler have contributed new arrangements... All this goes to making the Beethoven Choral Collection a real treasure trove for all choirs which want to mark the 2020 Beethoven anniversary, but beyond that, who also want to add a really worthwhile volume to their repertoire. Every church choir or choral society... will find inspiration for exploring Beethoven’s vocal works in the Beethoven Choral Collection. And through this, we will succeed in achieving... his well-deserved appreciation as a choral composer."

Watch the video below to find out more from the editor Jan Schumacher.