7 Variationen über die Romanze „A peine au sortir de l’enfance“ aus „Joseph“ von Étienne Nicolas Méhul

This edition is based on the autograph fair copy D-B, N. Mus. ms. 126 and, as a reference source, the first edition by Kühnel. The sometimes considerable differences between the printed and autograph scores are striking. While Weber clearly separates the parts in his manuscript both visually and musically, thus making their compositional function immediately obvious, the first edition is not uniformly structured in this respect and has often resorted to a simplified presentation. As both sources show, and as the composer explained to his publisher during the printing process, it was important to Weber that the theme could be played or sung along with. To this end, both the melody of Méhul’s romance in small notes and the text of the first verse in French are reproduced in the upper system of the piano. Although this may give the impression of a supposed easy access to the work, this is a fallacy, as the work is technically very demanding. In this sense, the newspaper Zeitung für die elegante Welt wrote about it in April 1813:

‘Among the many fine and excellent variations by the best masters, the present ones are distinguished by a style all their own, revealing not only a thoroughly educated artist, but also a great virtuoso. These variations will be of particular interest to those who do not shy away from difficulty and who love richness and fullness of style in works that are as diligently crafted as they are powerfully executed, and they will become more and more valuable with each repetition.’