"Elegischer Gesang" ("Elegiac Song"), Op. 118, is a short work by Ludwig van Beethoven scored for string quartet and four mixed voices. It is a setting of a text by Ignaz Franz Castelli (1781–1862). Although not published until 1826, it dates from 1814 and is dedicated to his friend and patron Baron Johann Baptist von Pasqualati of Osterberg, whose wife Eleonore had died three years earlier at the age of 24 years. It is one of Beethoven's least known works and is not often performed or recorded.
Date of composition | 1814 |
First published | 1826 |
Dedicated to | Johann Freiherr von Pasqualati |
Tonality | E Major |
Catalogue | Op. 118 |
Approx. duration | 4 minutes |
Spoken language | German |
Instruments |
Voice
- Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
Woodwind Quartet |
Autotranslations beta |
Ludwig van Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang en mi majeur, Op. 118 Ludwig van Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang in mi maggiore, Op. 118 Ludwig van Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang E-dur, Op. 118 |