Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (D-Sl): Music manuscripts of the second order (Codices musici II) completely cataloged

Steffen Voss

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

The music manuscripts of the Württemberg State Library in Stuttgart (RISM siglum D-Sl) from the “Codices Musici II” collection, which had not previously been listed in either printed catalogs or digital inventories, were cataloged between 2021 and 2026 by the Munich office of RISM Deutschland e. V. and are now included in the RISM database. These are the Stuttgart manuscripts that were not included in the printed catalogs published by Clytus Gottwald on behalf of the library. This group of manuscripts, known as the “second series of music manuscripts,” includes not only new acquisitions by the State Library but primarily bequests and estates of Württemberg composers from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Among them are the estates of the Stuttgart court Kapellmeisters Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (1760–1802) and Johann Joseph Abert (1832–1915), the director of music at the seminary Konrad Kocher (1786–1872), the organist Otto Scherzer (1821–1886), and the composer Josephine Lang (1815–1880). Works by the Auberlen family of musicians—spanning three generations—are included in a family estate (Georg Daniel Auberlen, 1728–1784, organist and schoolmaster in Felbach; his son Samuel Gottlob, 1758–1829; his nephew Nikolaus Ferdinand, 1755–1828; and Nikolaus Ferdinand’s son Wilhelm Amandus, 1798–1874). Another family collection contains the compositions of Joseph Eschborn (1800–1881), a Kapellmeister in Mannheim, and his children Carl Eschborn (1832–1851) and Georgine Eschborn (1828–1911), better known by her married name, Nina von Könneritz. Among the later acquisitions, the private collection of Wolfgang Früh, acquired in 1968, deserves special mention; it contains valuable copies and autographs by Stuttgart composers such as Johann Rudolf and Emilie Zumsteeg and Louis Hetsch (1806-1872), court music director in Mannheim. An excerpt from the catalog of Stuttgart’s RISM title entries was compiled by Helmut Lauterwasser on behalf of the Württemberg State Library; it is available online as a download.

Image: Josephine Lang, song “Der Schmetterling,” Württemberg State Library (D-Sl), Cod. mus. II 2° 89, f. 7r–10r, RISM ID no. 450137057

Category: Library collections