Manuscript from the opening Kyrie of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis

BEETHOVEN MISSA SOLEMNIS—INTRODUCTION AND KYRIE

Beethoven spoke of massive study he undertook to prepare composing his solemn mass, including Mozart’s Requiem, Cherubini’s Requiem, Haydn’s masses, even back to the Renaissance with Palestrina’s masses and further to Gregorian Chant. Above all, though, I believe his mind and ear was on Handel’s Messiah. It always mystified me that Beethoven held the opinion throughout his life that Handel was the greatest of composers. Not Bach, not Haydn or Mozart. He didn’t hesitate when asked who was the greatest composer: “Handel, to him I bow the knee.” He echoed Haydn’s well known confession after hearing the Hallelujah Chorus: “He is the master of us all.” I’m now convinced that like his teacher Haydn, Beethoven recognized that Handel’s genius went far beyond his musical notes; it was the way his music actually reaches deep into the human psyche and transforms it. What gets people to stand up for the Hallelujah Chorus. And this was Beethoven’s aim, as we all know, with the Ode to Joy in his 9th symphony. In fact, Missa Solemnis was composed just prior and during work on the 9th symphony. There are definite similarities, such as this moment in Gloria compared to an excerpt from the finale of the 9th symphony.

Missa Solemnis Gloria Amen and 9th Symphony Finale Excerpt

Missa Solemnis has many moments of the same astonishing directness and catchy syllabic singing of Handel’s “Hallelujah.” The opening Kyrie and setting of Gloria are like speech and transcendent shouts. The opening setting of Credo is like a workman’s chant—not dissimilar to the Russian Volga Boatmen song! Something an entire congregation can sing. The entire chorus literally shouts the final Amen in the Credo straight to the cosmos, with percussive explosive puffs of air. These moments really stick in our ears and convey enormous emotional energy.

Speech and Shouts—Messiah and Missa Solemnis

Beethoven implied his music actually had the transformative power to instill belief in the listener. His tempo markings for both the Kyrie and Sanctus contain the unusual instruction “Mit Andacht”—devoutly, or with devotion. In a letter to Archduke Rudolf, to whom he dedicated the mass, he wrote: “there is nothing higher than to approach the Godhead more nearly than other mortals and by means of that contact to spread the rays of the Godhead through the human race.” He inscribed on the manuscript copy he gave to the Archduke, “From the heart—may it go again—to the heart.”

There is no question of Beethoven’s sincerity, that this was a dead serious religious undertaking for him. He considered this mass his supreme masterpiece. Still, it is not well known. It is not another Messiah. For one thing, while amateur singers around the world thrill each year to participate in Messiah singalongs, that’s never going to happen with Missa Solemnis! It not only requires virtuoso soloists; it demands virtuoso professional choral singers as well. Sopranos infamously and frequently hold long sustained high notes— Gs, As, and B flats. The speed the choir has to sing some of the presto sections is frightening, requiring acrobatic articulation. The length is not really its problem either. Messiah is far longer than Missa Solemnis. However, for all its length, it’s a large collection of fairly short pieces, between 2 and 4 minutes, in that sense like Bach’s Passions and his B minor mass. Beethoven’s canvas, on the other hand, is massive. His Credo alone is an epic journey well over 20 minutes. Its contrasts and emotional highs and lows equal in scope any movement of a Mahler symphony. So listening to Missa Solemnis requires deep and extended concentration to follow its continual dramatic changes in tempo, texture, and musical style. Especially challenge is the massive wall of sound of the combined orchestra, choir, and soloists, frequently in complex counterpoint. It takes repeated hearings to untangle the many independent parts hitting our ears simultaneously.

What I would like to go is give you a bird’s “ear” view of the entire mass to help you follow Beethoven’s ideas. Let’s first review the journey of the Catholic mass, one filled with awe and mystery. There are five regular movements, called the Ordinary, that are part of every mass, and they divide the service into its main structural and emotional moments of faith, going from mercy to praise to belief to holy mystery and prayers for peace. The first movement is the Kyrie, a 3 part structure that asks for mercy—from God, from Christ, and again from God. Next is the Gloria that praises God and Jesus Christ. Then the Credo professes all the tenements of Christian belief—belief in one God, the Father; one Lord Jesus Christ, and Holy Ghost; belief in immaculate conception, crucifixion, and resurrection; belief in one Catholic church, belief in baptism to remove sins, and belief in a future resurrection of the dead with an eternal life in the word to come. Mercy, praise, and belief set up the mystery of the Sanctus, with its miracle of transubstantiation where bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Agnus Dei is the fifth movement, a prayer for peace right before the act of Communion.

KYRIE

Beethoven’s Kyrie is essentially an introduction, by far the shortest of the five movements. The first section grandly addresses God and introduces Beethoven’s musical forces—a full grand orchestra, a full choir, and the solo singers—soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. All in the same jubilant key of D major that he uses for his 9th symphony. If you didn’t know if before, heaven is in D major. Throughout the mass, Beethoven portrays God and heaven in D major.

Kyrie introducing orchestra, choir, and soloists

The inner Christe section takes on a darker hue, in B minor. Soloists wind a new circular theme, descending and rising scales, perhaps weaving Jesus’ crown of thorns.

Christe Eleison Section