Bagatelles, Op. 119 (Beethoven)

Page one of the manuscript from Beethoven's Bagatelle in G minor, Op. 119 (c. 1822)[1]

By the end of 1803, Beethoven had already sketched bagatelles Nos. 1 to 5 (along with several other short works for piano that he never published). In 1820, he first finished the last five bagatelles of Op. 119, and published them as a set of five in June 1821 for Wiener Pianoforteschule Schule by Friedrich Stark.[2] The following year, he revised his old bagatelle sketches to construct a new collection for publication, adding a final bagatelle, No. 6, composed in late 1822.[3] Initially Beethoven struggled to get a deal to publish any of the bagatelles.[3] Beethoven meet with many people such as Peters of Leipzig and Pacini in Paris for publishing, who declined his request. Eventually Beethoven managed to have the entire set published: first by Clementi in London in 1823, Maurice Schlesinger in Paris some time around the end of 1823, and Sauer & Leidesdorf in Vienna on in April 1824.[4] It is unclear to what degree this represents the composer's intentions. Some scholars have argued that the two halves of Op. 119 — Nos. 1 to 6, and Nos. 7 to 11 — are best thought of as separate collections. However, it is also possible that when Beethoven composed No. 6 in late 1822, he had already planned to send all eleven pieces to England. In that case, No. 6 would not be meant as a conclusion to the first five, but as a way to connect them with the latter five. The key relationship and thematic similarities between No. 6 and No. 7 support this hypothesis, as does the fact that in subsequent correspondence, Beethoven expressed only satisfaction with how the bagatelles were published in England after his ex-pupil Ferdinand Ries helped get the collection published.[5]

A typical performance of Op. 119 lasts around fourteen minutes.

1. G minor. Allegretto: This opening piece is in Ternary form with a coda. The A section in G minor uses 2 note phrases.[6]
2. C major. Andante con moto: This bagatelle uses a simple two-part structure ending with a short coda. There are two rhythmic ideas in this work: eighth notes, and triplets as the melody.[7]
3. D major. A l'Allemande: The form is ABA with an animated coda.
4. A major. Andante cantabile: This piece uses a brief Ternary form with repeats at measures 8 and 16.
5. C minor. Risoluto: The structure is ABC, with A and B having 1 repeat.
6. G major. Andante — Allegretto: The piece opens with the Andante, which includes a cadenza styled passage after the fermata.[8] The Allegretto section uses a general rhyme of two sixteenth notes and one eighth note. This section climaxes at a sudden change in the meter with rhythmic diminution, which leads into the 6/8 section. The 6/8 Section uses a new rhythm of Six 16th notes ending on an 8th note, before returning to a 2/4 time signature and ending the piece with the theme from the Allegretto.
7. C major. Allegro, ma non troppo: The structure is ABA. Beethoven uses less conventional musical ideas that also appear in his late piano sonatas, such as progressive rhythmic diminution with sustained trills.[9]
8. C major. Moderato cantabile: The eighth bagatelle's structure is AB, with each part having one repeat.[9]
9. A minor. Vivace moderato: This bagatelle is a waltz, and uses Ternary form without a Coda. The piece is uses the following harmonic progression of I – ♭II6- V7 – I.[10]
10. A major. Allegramente: The shortest piece Beethoven published at just 13 measures long.[11] The piece uses two 4 bar phrases, and ends with a 4 bar coda.
11. B♭ major. Andante, ma non troppo: The final piece in the set is in Binary form with a codetta. The first 4 bars repeat once. This bagatelle highlighted Beethoven’s late compositional style.[12]

• Bagatelles, Op. 33
• Bagatelles, Op. 126

• Bagatelles, Opus 119: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project