The Works of Joseph Martin Kraus by Bertil Van Boer

The works of Joseph Martin Kraus A preliminary overview of the sources* By Bertil van Boer Jr. In September, 1980, the second symposium of the German-Swedish composer Joseph Martin Kraus was held in the small town of Buchen im Odenwald in West Ger- my, where the composer lived for many years during his youth. It was an important event in that it succeeded in showing the musicological world that there i5 growing interest in this highly imaginative man, and that Kraus can no longer be presented as an obscure Kapellmeister in the far north Rather, he must be seen as an international figure whose manifold talents in both music and literature are to be recognized on their own merits as one of the achievements of that age. However, the symposium ran afoul of some very basic problems: the lack of any comprehensive study of the sources, of an accurate discussion of his development as a composer as evidenced through a thorough analysis of his works, and of a complete reckoning of his musical and literary output. One example of this confusion that has heretofore existed in the source study may be seen in a lecture at the symposium by Helga Lühning, an Italian opera specialist. Frau Lühning attempted to give an overall picture of Kraus’s works set to Italian texts, mostly by Metastasio. However, for one work, the small song/arietta Ma tu tremi from the secular cantata La Tempesta by Metastasio,it soon became evident that no one knew when it had been composed, for what purpose it was written, where the main sources were, or even what the original form of the work had been. It became apparent that some sort of solid foundation in the form of source study and thematic catalogue was needed as soon as possible, in order to rectify this sad state of affairs. I have attempted to answer part of this need in my research, the results of which will comprise two parts: the thematic catalogue and a basic study of the sources. The catalogue will be a complete description of all of the composer’s known works, laid out in such a manner as to facilitate an easily accessible overview of the source material and the composer’s output. The source study will consist of a more detailed description of the autographs, copies, and early editions, with special consideration given to tracing the transmission of the works down to the present (or, unfortunately, down to the date of their loss or destruction) through secondary references In addition, there will be two special chapters devoted to questions This essay was originally delivered as a lecture before members of the Royal Swedish ‘Academy of Music at the Academy on May 19, 1981. Abbreviations used: S-Ub -Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek FSS -Fredrik Samuel Silverstolpe S-Kb -KungIiga biblioteket, Stockholm. concerning chronology and authenticity. Of course, the study cannot hope to be both Stockholm and Uppsala, and consist of a heretofore unknown motet for exhaustive, and indeed many of the problems encountered so far will provide four voices and organ without text, the final chorus to a Prologue by D. G. Björn much material for future research. But it is my sincere desire that this work will written for Duke Carl’s (latet Carl XIII) birthday in 1791 Må Sveafolk, a page provide a foundation for research into Kraus’s life, music, and times. In this essay, from the now-lost aria for Poinsinet’s play Visittimman (Le Cercle) Hör mina I should like to present the overview of my research according to five categories: ömma suckar klaga, and the complete concept for the Overture in D Minor, con- Autographs, Copies, Editions, Authenticity, and Chronology. training the introduction later used by Kraus for the Funeral Cantata of Gustav III and a fugue fram the overture to Albrechtsberger’s oratorio Die Pilger auf Golgatha Autographs (1782). These second-categoryworks generally show complete string orchestration A discussion of a Kraus autograph covers two basic problems: first, what does an and vocal line, but may be lacking texts and most or all winds. autograph look like, and second, can both the surviving and destroyed or lost auto- The majority of the surviving autographs belong to the third and fourth groups, graphs be traced after Kraus’s death A corollary to the first question concerns the complete autographs erster Hand. It is here that we may note the changes a more aesthetical problem: How did Kraus compose his music, and can the in Kram’s script during his life. In the foreword to his edition of the Symphony development of a work be traced through the autographs, both sketches and in C Minor, Richard Engländer remarked that the composer's handwriting was finished fair copies? extremely variable, changing not only from manuscript to manuscript, but some- At present about 35 %of Kraus’s music exists in autograph form, all of which times from line to line on a single page. However, my research has shown that this is preserved, with one exception, in libraries in Stockholm and Uppsala The one analysis of his handwriting syle is perhaps a bit too hasty, for despite a general exception is a song Poeter priser which has recently turned up in the Silverstolpe evolution in his script, as we shall see in the next two examples, and the idiosyncratic collection at Näs herrgård in Rö, Uppland. These autographs may be divided into four basic categories: 1) Sketches; 2) Partiturkonzepte, that is, semi-scored drafts; Example 2. Autograph. Symphony in C Major, Mvt. II. 3) full scores and/or parts; and 4) transcriptions or second copies af full works. Examples of the first may be seen in the sketches now preserved bound into the backs of volumes containing complete scores as part of the Silverstolpe collection at the library of the University of Uppsala These sketches comprise the rough drafts for parts of Act V of the opera Aeneas i Cartago, the cantata Bland de hvita, and the piano cantata Fiskarstugan (Example 1). Examples of the second exist in Example 1. S-Ub Caps. 57: 3a 52. Sketches to Fiskarstugan. quirks induced by changing mood, emotional impairment and haste, the style Example 4. Autograph. J. Wikmanson, Motet from Näs herrgård. remains remarkably constant Example 2 shows his early handwriting. It is taken from a Symphony in C Major which may be dated to around 1778-1780. The care is evident, though the clefs are crude and the pen strokes large. In later years, more precisely after the beginning of his Grand Tour in 1782, ehe writing style becomes more spidery and succinct, as may be seen in Example 3. There exist local variations, such as the complete or incomplete curl on top af the treble clefs, but in reality, Kraus’s style remains legible and almost unique. It evolves, but does not vary that mu4 and a combination of such factors as clefs, notes, stems, dynamics, rests, etc. gives an allmost foolproof clue to his handwriting Example 3. Autograph. Symphony in E flat Major, Mvt. III. The fourth category consists of works in autograph, but not in the original fair copy. That is to say, these are works for which Kraus himself wrote out copies for one reason or another. The best example of this is the above-mentioned Kraus Liederbuch, formerly in Wikmanson’s possessionand now in the Library of the Swedish Academy of Music. It comprises a collection of nearly all of Kraus’s songs, gathered together by the composer for some as yet undetermined purpose (perhaps communal singing by the Palmstedt artistic circle). An example may be seen in the song Der Abschied, which, according to a letter by Kraus dated in March of 1785 in Paris, was sent to his dear friend Samuel Liedemann in Vienna as a special gift. However, it would appear that the song was transcribed, copied again, and eventually wound up in the Liederbuh, an autograph, but not the first autograph. The transmission of the known autographs has been fairly easy to assess, even though many no longer survive (or have not yet been rediscovered). For example, Kraus willingly gave both Wikmanson and Haeffner autographs of his music. The latter had in his possession, at least for a time, the early opera Azire, since idendity. Among the composers Living in Sweden during Kraus’s lifetime, only F. S. Silverstolpe borrowed the score from Haeffner’s collection in 1808 for J. Wikmanson’s script causes any difficulties in its similarity. As C.-G. Stellan a run-hough, according to Kraus’s biographer. The Palmstedts were owners ar Mörner noted in his dissertation on Wikmanson (Johan Wikmanson und die one point of the complete Bellman-Kraus cantata cycle, which their heirs donated Brüder Silverstolpe, 1952), this pupil of Kraus in fact ”completed” the last stanzas to the Royal Library in Stockholm in the middle of the 19th century. And too, of the song Dors mon enfant in the Kraus Liederbuh, so carefully imitating his there were many works that were burned in the tragic fire of the Dramatic teacher’s style that a separation of their contributions would be virtually impossible Theater in 1827. to distinguish were it not for a note by F. S. Silverstolpe testifying to the fact. The German autographs are more interesting historically, even though none But the normal Wikmanson handscript during this time contains enough differences survive at present. It is known from both Kraus’s own correspondence and the to make an identification possible. notes uf F. S. SilverstoIpe that the firm of Johann Traeg in Vienna posessed several autographs, including the Concerto in C Major for violin and orchestra ehe Viennese firm of Johann Traeg.

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