Beethoven: Mass in C major, Op.86

History and composition

Beethoven had studied counterpoint in Vienna with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, an authority in the field, but had not turned to sacred music until late in his career. He received a commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II in 1807, extending a tradition established by Joseph Haydn, who for decades had served as the family's Kapellmeister (music director). Following his return from England in 1795, Haydn had composed one mass per year for the Esterházy family, to celebrate the name day of the Prince's wife. Haydn had ceased this tradition with the failure of his health in 1802. Beethoven was fully aware of the tradition that Haydn had established and it influenced him strongly in writing the Mass in C major. Beethoven confessed in a letter to the prince: "may I just say that I will hand the mass over to you with great trepidation, as Your Serene Highness is accustomed to having the inimitable masterworks of the great Haydn performed." Lewis Lockwood writes:

On accepting the prince's commission Beethoven had praised Haydn's masses, calling them "inimitable masterpieces." Beethoven meant it. He clearly studied Haydn's masses while composing his own, no doubt for reasons far beyond the fact that the Esterházys had commissioned it, as we see from his sketches for the Gloria. The sketches include two passes copied from the Gloria of Haydn's Schöpfungsmesse ("Creation Mass"), one of four late Haydn masses easily available to Beethoven in published editions.

Premiere

Beethoven's mass was premiered on 13 September 1807 by the Prince's own musical forces in Eisenstadt, the ancestral seat of the Esterházys not far from Vienna. It is not known what building housed the performance, but the two likely candidates are the Bergkirche, which had hosted a number of the Haydn premieres, and the chapel of the Prince's principal residence, Schloss Esterházy.

The first performance was underrehearsed; Stoltzfus describes the dress rehearsal as "unsatisfactory" and notes that only one of the five altos in the chorus was present.

Beethoven conducted parts of the mass, the Gloria and the Sanctus, in a concert on 22 December 1808, which featured the public premieres of his Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 6, Piano Concerto No. 4 and Choral Fantasy.

Publication

Beethoven offered the mass, after revising the composition, to the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel, together with the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. Originally, the mass had been dedicated to Prince Esterházy; this dedication appears on the manuscript score used at the premiere. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the outcome of the first performance and the Prince's reaction, Beethoven dedicated the published version (1812) to another person, Prince Kinsky. The first publication consisted of a printed score with handwritten copies of orchestral parts on request.

The publisher sent Beethoven an alternative German text by Christian Schreiber (de), about which Beethoven commented on 16 January 1811: "The translation of the Gloria seems to fit well to me, but to the Kyrie not so well, although the beginning “tief im Staub anbeten wir” [deep in dust we worship] fits very well; yet it seems to me in some expressions such as “ew’gen Weltenherrscher” [eternal ruler of the world] “Allgewaltigen” [omnipotent] are more suitable for the Gloria. The general character [...] in the Kyrie is heartfelt resignation, from where the depth of religious feelings “Gott erbarme dich unser” [God have mercy upon us] without, however, being sad, gentleness is the basis of the whole work, [...] although “eleison have mercy upon us” – yet there is cheerfulness in the whole. The Catholic goes to his church on Sundays bedecked with festive cheerfulness. The Kyrie Eleison is likewise the introduction to the whole mass; with such strong expressions little remains over for the places where they should really be strong."