Ritter Catalogue
D-BEU Mus.ms. 159 is a catalogue of organ works compiled by August Gottfried Ritter. Despite it's limited information (consisting of titles, some rudimentary source information, and an incipit of a few measures), it remains a valuable source of information to musicologists.
Description
Ritter started collecting early organ music by around 1830 in his teenager years, and he would dutifully enter the works he copied into this catalogue. Several times in Ritter's life were particularly fruitful for this discovery, including his studies at the Institut für Kirchenmusik in Berlin and his friendship with Philipp Spitta, a connection which allowed Ritter access to many other important manuscripts.
Dietrich Buxtehude
The catalogue of works by Dietrich Buxtehude makes known a variety of things about the his works and how they were available to Ritter, and this catalogue even reveals at least one alternate reading which may correct a "modernization" of the source by Johann Gottfried Walther.
Since Ritter made the entries in order of when he copied the piece, some clues about when pieces were discovered and copied by him can be found. Additionally, we can ascertain which manuscripts (known to us) Ritter copied certain pieces from, including the Andreas Bach Book, the lost Grobe Tablature, several manuscripts copied by Johann Gottfried Walther, and the Frankenberger Walther Manuscript[1].
One incipit of particular note is that for Buxtehude's work BuxWV 192. Called Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn in the surviving Johann Gottfried Walther manuscripts, this piece is exceptionally called Herr Jesu, Gnadensonne. Trio. and features an opening ornament on the first note of the chorale which is not found in any other copy (instead being replaced by a half-rest).[2] Besides being a valuable reading for this piece, this is evidence of this piece's existence in some other unknown source, and it is also evidence for one of the ways that Johann Gottfried Walther would modify pieces that he was copying.
![<<
\new GrandStaff <<
\new Staff \with { \clef soprano \key g \major } << \relative fis' { r8 fis g16[ a g32 a g fis] g2 | g4. a8 } \\ \relative b { r2 r8 b[ c d] | e4 d8[ c] } \\ \relative fis' { s1 | s4 b8\rest fis8 } >>
\new Staff \with { \clef bass\key g \major } \relative c' { R1 | r8 c[ b a] }
>>
>>
\layout {
\context { \Voice \autoBeamOff }
}](/wiki/images/lilypond/f/l/flpqmy35u4650ijqr7qp1owx5tu4css/flpqmy35.png)
Puer Natus in Bethlehem
The Incerta Mulleriana section of this catalogue includes an entry for Buxtehude's work BuxWV 217, Puer natus in Bethlehem (measures 1-3). It is identical to the copy of this piece found in Walther's manuscripts, except for the missing rests from the first (pickup) measure. Based on the possible originating location of this manuscript, it is possible that this copy of the piece (which would have been known to Ritter) would be closer to Buxtehude's autograph.
Müller
One section of this catalogue is an incipit catalogue titled Incerta Mulleriana: 34-57.
This is a catalogue of part of an unknown manuscript owned or compiled by Johann Immanuel Müller.
This catalogue contains 22 works numbered 34 through 55. All of the works are Christmas chorales, and all of them include a title but no composer.
Some of these works have been connected to composers based on concordances elsewhere. The composers include Johann Heinrich Buttstädt, Johann Gottfried Walther, and Johann Michael and Johann Sebastian Bach. It also contains an entry for the setting of the Buxtehude composition Puer natus in Bethlehem.
References
Belotti, Michael (editor). Dieterich Buxtehude: The Collected Works. Volume 16: Keyboard Works, Part 2: Organ Chorales, Section B: Commentary. New York: The Broude Trust, 2010. 13-14, 31-32, 104.
