Long-lost Beethoven 'duets' with Burns are music to the ears

The rare musical manuscript, in Beethoven’s own hand, dates from 1815, the year of the Battle of Waterloo. Part of a series of tunes commissioned by an Edinburgh publisher, George Thomson, they are now up for auction and expected to sell for about 400,000.

Beethoven’s score for Highland Harry - whose chorus Burns picked up "from an old woman in Dunblane" - was described by one expert yesterday as a jaunty piece that used a bass "drone" to give a folksy feel.

The first verse of the short song reads:

"My Harry was a gallant gay, Fu’ stately strade he on the plain; But now he’s banish’d far away, I’ll never see him back again."

Beethoven’s settings of British folk tunes have often been overlooked, but they are increasingly seen as part of the master’s oeuvre.

Thomson, who lived from 1757 to 1851, enlisted leading European composers, including Haydn, Weber and Hummel, to write classical accompaniments for the original melodies of Scottish and Irish folk songs, suitable for violin, cello and piano in family homes.

He boldly haggled with Beethoven over prices - eventually agreeing to pay four gold ducats rather than three - and insisted that the composer keep his music simple enough for amateur players. The manuscript, which goes on sale at a Christie’s auction in November, is said to be the first to appear on the open market in 15 years, with an estimated price of 350,000-450,000. It has been in a private collection since 1959 and includes five songs, among them the popular setting of Tis The Last Rose of Summer, by Thomas Moore.

The 12 leaves of paper are stitched together with the original twine, said Thomas Venning, a manuscript specialist at Christie’s. "It is as it left Beethoven’s desk."

Beethoven’s fame was such that manuscripts in his own hand have usually been broken up and sold one leaf at a time, added Mr Venning.

As secretary to the board of trustees for the Encouragement of Arts and Manufacturers in Scotland, Thomson was a champion of Scottish culture.

He set out to remould Scottish and other British folk tunes with classical arrangements and genteel words that would make them fit for British drawing rooms.

He commissioned more than 200 settings from Franz Joseph Haydn while also commissioning words from Burns, Sir Walter Scott and others.

Thomson approached Beethoven in the early 19th century after Haydn became too ill, and after Burns’s death in 1796. Beethoven eventually wrote settings for 126 songs, about a third of them Scottish.

"Thomson’s goal was to preserve the best Scottish songs in the manner that he thought was best for his time," said Marjorie Rycroft, of the music department at Glasgow University. "He was a collector, he was an editor, and a very good amateur musician."

Thomson sent Beethoven the original tunes for the songs, but not the words. In 1812, after the composer complained bitterly that he could not write them without the words, Thomson began to send brief descriptions.

He twice asked Beethoven to adapt Highland Harry, later describing the song in 1820 to the composer, as "a girl sighs for the return of her beloved".

Mr Venning said: "This was quite an unusual thing for Beethoven to be involved with. He really poured himself into these settings and took them very seriously. This is Beethoven at his closest involvement with British and Irish culture."

Beethoven, who lived from 1770-1827, grappled with settings of God Save the King and Auld Lang Syne.

In his diaries, he wrote: "The Scotch songs show how unconstrainedly irregular melodies can be treated with the help of harmony."

Barry Cooper, a professor of music at Manchester University and the author of a book, Beethoven’s Folk Settings, said the composer’s work on the folk tunes was long dismissed by both classical purists and folk enthusiasts.

"What tended to happen was the German scholars thought these were rubbishy British songs, and the British thought it was a German composer messing about with our folk tunes.

"People who want Scottish things tend to be a bit suspicious of Beethoven, and people who want Beethoven’s music tend to be suspicious of Scottish things."

Mr Cooper said the tune was "jaunty with a semblance of folk elements". There is a single bass note running all through the piece that gives an imitation of a folksy bass "drone", he said.