Swiss songs and dances from the Romantic period

In the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland only a few lines recall the Solothurn composer Alois Franz Peter Glutz von Blotzheim (1789-1827). But there are all kinds of anecdotes about the songwriter from Beethoven's time, who went blind as a child. This wealthy musician is said to have repeatedly distributed large quantities of porridge to needy fellow countrymen. The truth is that the patrician's son could afford to take a musically gifted blind guide with him on his forays from village to village. Ludwig Rotschi, the future music teacher at the college and music director in Solothurn, accompanied Alois Glutz for years, once as far as Schwyz, where the wandering musician died six months after Ludwig van Beethoven "in transit" (as the death register puts it). Rotschi notated the songs written and set to music by Glutz and also assisted the visually impaired composer with their publication.

These songs in a folk style, which can be compared with the contemporaneous new creations of the artist couple Gottlieb Jakob Kuhn and Ferdinand Fürchtegott Huber and which are sometimes reminiscent of a famous contemporary, Franz Schubert, live on in the collection In the Röseligarte (1908-1925), yes, even in school hymnals of our time. It is often forgotten that the folk song that is still popular today Early in the morning, before the sun rises goes back to Alois Glutz.

It is surprising that the work of the street musician with the guitar on his back and the flageolet in his bag, who was widely known during his lifetime and who also composed for flute, guitar and fortepiano, has only recently become available in a three-volume edition. Verena Bider, the outgoing director of the Solothurn Central Library, initiated the inventory of the songs and instrumental works. However, it is above all the versatile librarian Christoph Greuter who is to be thanked for the practical use of the booklets. As a lutenist trained at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, a professional guitarist and an experienced collaborator in music editions, Greuter is able to present a collection of all the discoverable works by Alois Glutz von Blotzheim.

The recently published music enriches the repertoire of Swiss folk songs and the literature for sophisticated amateur music-making. The songs and dances also invite musicologists to analyze and compare them. This new edition also points out missing parts and works and can be described as advanced preliminary work for a future complete edition. In the meantime, we can enjoy a treasure that has been freed from oblivion and remember a lovable Swiss musical personality of the Romantic period while playing and singing.

Alois Franz Peter Glutz von Blotzheim: Lieder und Instrumentalmusik, edited by Christoph Greuter, (Musik aus der Zentralbibliothek Solothurn, Heft 9), Heft I: M&S 2399, Heft II: M&S 2451,Heft III: M&S 2452, Fr. 32.00 each, Müller & Schade, Bern 2017