Product Description
It probably comes as a surprise to many to know that Beethoven wrote variations on the current British national anthem, as well as on a jingoistic tune sung every year at the BBC Proms. But indeed he did. In 1803 he was approached by George Thomson, a civil servant living in Edinburgh who was passionate about collecting folk songs from his own country. He wanted Beethoven to compose six sonatas on Scottish melodies-a project which never materialized, but which started a business relationship that lasted until 1820. For Thomson, Beethoven completed some 150 arrangements of Scottish, Welsh and Irish folk songs (including Auld lang syne). Towards the end of 1803, he sent him these two sets of variations for piano, saying they werent too difficult and hoping they would have much success.
Concerning the 7 Variations on God save the King, WoO78, Beethoven made the comment that he wanted to show the English what a blessing they have with that tune. We dont really know who wrote it, but it became very popular in 1745 when it started being sung at Drury Lane and Covent Garden to celebrate the putting-down of the Jacobite rising. It travelled over to the Continent where in 1795 it became the royal anthem of Prussia (Heil dir im Siegerkranz).
It makes a great theme for variations, and Beethoven has a lot of fun with it. If ever you needed proof of humour in his music, here it is. After some counterpoint in variation 1, he gives us some nimble fingerwork to deal with before an expressive minor-mode variation that can also be played a bit tongue-in-cheek. He changes metre for variation 6, a perky march, and stays in that time signature for variation 7. A lot of the difficulty of this piece depends on the tempo you choose at this point. The coda is inspired: a brief cadenza-like descent of F major broken chords leads us into a solemn return of the theme, but with some piquant and mischievous harmonies. The final allegro brings the work to a bravura conclusion.
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