User:MinorProphet/Draft subpages/Beethoven's funeral

Sources and list of attendees
Contemporary accounts of the funeral and some of the history of the list of attendees:
 * 1) First account I can find appeared in Der Sammler (Vienna), April 1827.
 * 2) An abridged version of the funeral and list of mourners appeared in the Harmonicon (London), May 1827, plus letters from Beethoven about the Philharmonic Society's gift of £100.
 * 3) Published with "corrections" in June 1829 in the intro to Seyfried's arrangement of the 3 Equals nos. 1 & 3 (settings of the Miserere), and No. 2 (the Grillparzer setting, performed at the 1st anniversary, 1828) pub. Haslinger. See also Allgemeine Musikalischer Anzeiger, March 1829, p. 45
 * 4) An abbreviated account similar to the Seyfried/Haslinger intro appeared in the Harmonicon, 1830 p. 444 plus the music for Nos. 1 & 3. with new English words
 * 5) Almost the full list appeared in Appendix XI of the 1841 English edition of Schindler's Life of Beethoven with Moscheles' name on the title page, and no mention of Schindler. Schindler was understandably less than happy. A revised German edition appeared soon after. Translated & published in New York, e.g.
 * 6) A very truncated list appeared in the 1921 Thayer/Krebhiel biography.
 * 7) The complete list from Der Sammler doesn't seem to have been collated and printed in full until 2000.

Death
Realising that Beethoven was dying, Anton Schindler commissioned a poem from the poet Franz Grillparzer, a friend of Schubert. "When Schindler had arrived at my apartment to commission the oration, I was shattered by the news he bore me. I hadn't even known the composer was ill. Scarcely had I begun to work on the second half when Schindler came back on the following day to collect what he had ordered, for Beethoven had died."

Beethoven's publisher Tobias Haslinger, who owned the MS of Beethoven's Three Equals for four trombones, WoO 30, asked Ignaz Seyfried for a chorale based on the music, which resulted in arrangements of Nos. 1 & 3. NB + copy & sources re arrangements from Equales.

Beethoven died on Monday, 26 March 1827, at the Schwarzspanierhaus, (now 15 Schwarzspanierstraße), in the Alsergrund. An autopsy was held the following morning by Dr. Johann Wagner. A death mask was made on 28 March, and the body was placed in an oak coffin.

Funeral
The funeral took place in the afternoon of 29th March 1827. The music was played in accordance with the regulations of the Catholic Church governing the use of music in churches. "For first-class funerals, the arrival of the clergy will be announced by a short mourning-music (Equale) played on trombones or other wind instruments. This will mark the beginning of the funeral service. After this, the funeral procession will set out, again suitably announced by mourning music by a wind band. During the procession, this shall be played alternately with a three- or four-voice choral Miserere until arrival at the entrance of the church or graveyard, where the benediction of the Requiem aeternam is sung. After the benediction and common prayer, a mourning motet is sung." These assorted rules were only gathered together the following year with the publication of Kirchenmusik-Ordnung (1828), ('Church music regulations') by Franz Xaver Glöggl, director of music in Linz and its cathedral (Stadt- und Domkapellmeister). Glöggl had commissioned some tower music for trombones from Beethoven in Linz in 1812, which has come down to us as the Three Equals for four trombones, WoO 30.

The coffin was placed under an awning in the courtyard at the back of the house, which opened onto a park. See map.


 * Zeller
 * Military assistance - barracks
 * Preparations - LvB.s body & coffin
 * Vast crowds - somewhat uncontrollable - perhaps 10,000 (or 20,000?) - approx 10% of the whole population of Vienna (100-200,000) c1825 - check
 * There were so many people that the gate into the courtyard at the rear was closed. See map.
 * Ceremonies began at 3pm.
 * 9 priests - prayers - B. A. Weber chorale by eight singers
 * Coffin brought out to the front of the house. Procession assembled. Full mourning attire - crepe flowers (roses? lilies?). Wax torches.
 * Richly decorated pall - provided by an infantry regiment? - tips or cords held by Kapellmeisters.
 * Some people, like LvB's brother Johann and Breuning only finding their place with difficulty because of the press of onlookers.
 * Procession moved off, with the trombones and choir alternating Nos. 1 & 3 of the Equals.

Funeral procession
The cross-bearer;

The brothers Böck, Weidl, and Tuschke;
 * Trombone players

The choirmaster/Kapellmeister, Ignaz Aßmayer and, under his direction, a choir of 16 singers:.
 * Choir


 * Tenors: 1 Tietze, 2 Schnitzer, 3 Gross, 4 Sikora, 5 Frühwald, 6 Geissler, 7 Rathmeyer, 8 Kokrement,
 * Basses: 9 Fuchs, 10 Nejebse, 11 Ziegler, 12 Perschl, 13 Leidl, 14 Weinkopf, 15 Pfeiffer, and 16 Seipelt;

The high clergy;

Eight principal singers of the Royal and Imperial Court Opera carried the coffin: 1. Eichberger, 2. Schuster, 3. Cramolini, 4. A. Müller, 5. Hoffmann, 6. Rupprecht, 7. Borschitzky, and 8. Anton Wranitzky (fils)
 * Coffin-bearers

Eight Kapellmeisters held the white cords attached to the pall.
 * Pall-cord holders
 * l1. Weigl   *r1. Eybler
 * l2. Gyrowetz   *r2. Hummel
 * l3. Gänsbacher    *r3. Seyfried
 * l4. Würfel   *r4. Kreutzer;

(in alphabetical order): 1. Anschütz, 2. Bernard, 3. Blahetka, 4. Jos. Böhm, 5. Castelli, 6. Karl Czerny, 7. Signore David [or possibly Giovanni David, his "roulade-monger" son], 8. Konrad Graf, 9. Grillparzer, 10. Grünbaum, 11. Haslinger, 12. Hildebrand, 13. Holz, 14. Katter, 15. Krall, 16. Sig. Lablache, 17. Baron Lannoy, 18. Linke, 19. Mayseder, 20. Mechetti, 21. Meier, 22, Mr. Meric (Gatte der Mad. Lalande), 23. Merk, 24. Signore Pacini, 25. Piringer,  26. Radichi, 27. Raimund, 28. Riotte, 29. Schickh, 30. Schmiedl, 31. Schoberlechner, 32. Schubert, 33. Schuppanzigh, 34. Steiner, 35. Streicher, 36. Weidman, 37. Weiss, 38. Wolfmeyer;
 * Torch-bearers

In the 1894 obituary of Benedict Randhartinger, the following phrase appears: "He had a brother, Joseph, of whom nothing is known except that he was one of the torchbearers at Beethoven's funeral."
 * Claimed torch-bearer
 * Joseph Randhartinger

According to the following account, Joseph R. was at the funeral in Währing, for he retired afterwards to a de:Weinstube with Schubert and Franz Lachner for a drink:
 * "Schubert accompagna Beethoven à sa dernière demeure, au cimetière de Währing. Au retour, entrant avec deux amis, Franz Lachner et Joseph Randhartiger dans une « weinstube », il fit remplir trois verres ; il but une première fois à la mémoire du grand homme auquel les derniers honneurs venaient d'être rendus ; puis, versant une seconde rasade, il but à celui des trois 	amis qui mourrait le premier. Une année à peine s'était écoulée que Schubert s'endormait de son dernier sommeil. Conformément à son plus cher désir, il fut inhumé au cimetière de Währing, près de la tombe de Beethoven."

According to another source, however, their companion was Benedict Randhartiger, Joseph's brother.


 * Benedict Randhartiger
 * Benedict Randhartiger was the teacher of Liszt. He went to the Konvictschule like Schubert, then the pupil of Salieri. Studied law, then secretary to Count Szechenyi, an officer of the Imperial Court. <!- No, that was Alberto Randegger


 * The obituary says that in 1823, BR was in the room with Schubert, who was looking at BR's volume of poems by W. Mueller. BR was called out of the room, and when he returned FS was gone with the pomes (penyeach). The next day he went back to FS's for his book, which was returned to him along with the manuscript of Die Schöne Müllerin which Schubert had composed overnight.


 * According to the obituary, Benedict Randhartiger was Schubert's only real friend to visit Schubert "in the terrible loneliness of the great musician's illness." This may be one of those fanciful agglomerations which encrust the histories of great musicians.


 * He sang tenor in the kk Hofopera from 1836. Then vice Kapellmeister in 1844, and succeeded Ignaz Aßmayer (who was only a lowly organist when he conducted the choir at the funeral in 1827) as Kapellmeister in 1862.

illustrious and enlightened amateurs, count Moriz von Dietrichstein, Moritz, Prince of Dietrichstein and the Privy Counsellors (Geheimer Rat) von Mosel and Brauning (LvB's childhood friend and executor); Beethoven's brother; the pupils of the Conservatory; the students of the thoroughbass teacher at St. Anna's, Herr Kapellmeister Drechsler, etc. Freiherr von Schlechta de:Franz Xaver Schlechta von Wschehrd
 * Other mourners

Service and burial



 * Arrived at the church - bier placed at the high altar. Prayers said. Seyfried's Libera me was sung. (NB Printed in appendix to B's General Bass.)


 * Coffin placed on a four-in-hand ceremonial hearse, and drove off to the Hoffried Währing Cemetery. Many carriages followed it out across the custom-line.
 * Picnic drama at the Währing brook.
 * At the gates of the cemetery, Heinrich Anschütz, kk Court Actor, recited a funeral oration written by Grillparzer in B's memory.
 * Some accounts say only a few select mourners were allowed in. Other accounts say it was crowded.
 * Interment
 * Haslinger handed three laurel wreaths to Hummel, Court Kapellmeister of the Grand-Duchy of Weimar, who lowered them on to the coffin. B's close friends remained until the earth was levelled off.
 * Watch placed on the grave after suspicions of grave-robbing were brought to light.

Aftermath
Johann Baptist Krall, aged c23 when he carried one of the torches in the procession, became a member of the board of directors of the Wiener Singverein in 1858. In 1863, at the instigation of Krall and Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr., the board of directors of the Gesellschaft der Musik decided to exhume the graves of Schubert and Beethoven, in order to prevent further decomposition and at the same time to establish their resting places in a “worthy manner”. On Friday morning, 23 October 1863, the remains of both composers were reburied in newly constructed vaults in the Währing Cemetery.

"En 1888, les restes de Schubert furent transportés de Währing au cimetière central à Vienne dans le monument que nous reproduisons on p. 118."

Music played

 * In the courtyard:
 * B. A. Weber (Bernhard Anselm Weber) - a chorale from his incidental music for Schiller's play William Tell (play).
 * From LvB's house to the church
 * Seyfried's arrangement for trombones of the funeral march from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17,Op. 26. It was later published as Beethoven's Begräbniss, setting words by Alois Jeitteles, who furnished the words for ''An die ferne Geliebte.
 * Nos. 1 & 3 from Three Equals for four trombones, WoO 30, played by the trombones, alternating with arrangements by Seyfried for 4-part men's chorus, setting verses 1 and 3 from the Miserere.
 * In the church
 * Ignaz von Seyfried - arrangement for unaccompanied 4-part men's chorus of Libera Me, originally written for performance with organ during Mozart's Requiem.

Contemporary accounts

 * Volume 1·Volume 2
 * Two fewer pages than the 1841 Colburn ed.
 * Volume I·Volume II·Volume III
 * The German edition of Thayer's book, edited and expanded by Hugo Riemann, doesn't expand on Thayer's very selective list of mourners, but contains the full text of Grillparzer's oration, hastily scribbled down for Haslinger?
 * Volume 1·Volume 2
 * Two fewer pages than the 1841 Colburn ed.
 * Volume I·Volume II·Volume III
 * The German edition of Thayer's book, edited and expanded by Hugo Riemann, doesn't expand on Thayer's very selective list of mourners, but contains the full text of Grillparzer's oration, hastily scribbled down for Haslinger?
 * The German edition of Thayer's book, edited and expanded by Hugo Riemann, doesn't expand on Thayer's very selective list of mourners, but contains the full text of Grillparzer's oration, hastily scribbled down for Haslinger?


 * The funeral itself, pp 493-6
 * The funeral itself, pp 493-6