Beethoven: Mass in C

Beethoven composed his Mass in C in 1807 as a commission for Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II. It was the prince’s custom to commission a Mass to celebrate his wife the Princess Maria’s nameday each year. Haydn, Beethoven’s tutor in earlier years, had written six of these celebratory Masses up to 1802 by when his health had failed and the commissions passed to Johann Hummel. The prince turned to Beethoven in 1807 after meeting him in the Viennese Theatre where the prince was patron and Beethoven was musical director, working on his opera Fidelio. Beethoven worked on the Mass that summer, while planning his Fifth Symphony.

For Beethoven, who was struggling with family and financial difficulties, the prospect of commissions from one of Europe’s most prominent patrons was a magnificent opportunity and lifeline for the future. But it was not to be. The prince did not like the Mass, and wrote to a friend “it is unbearably ridiculous and detestable…   I am ashamed”.  The relationship was broken petulantly on both sides and Beethoven did not work for the prince again. Nor did he attempt another setting of the Mass for some ten years.

It is not clear what upset the prince. Beethoven had wished to set the text “in a manner in which it has rarely been treated” giving full weight to the meaning and sanctity of each line. It may have been that in contrast with Haydn’s cheerful and colourful settings parts of the Mass proved too stern for a family celebration.

The Mass in C is deferential to the liturgy but with untraditional arrangement and scoring that his audience may have found disturbing. The Kyrie begins with unaccompanied bass voices, moving to a climax before the two main movements, the Gloria and the Credo. Some particularly profound passages are delivered in unison, sometimes unaccompanied or, as in the Sanctus, accompanied by timpani only. Fugal crescendos underline the statements of belief in the Credo. Overall, the Mass follows a symphonic progression of keys from the traditional C major and returning to it. This circular journey closes with Dona Nobis Pacem completed movingly by the return of the theme of the opening Kyrie. 

Initially disregarded because of its history and eclipsed for most of two centuries by his towering Missa Solemnis of 1816, the Mass in C has only recently come to be recognised as one of Beethoven’s most masterly works. It is his personal testimony to spirituality and peace contrasted with the force of belief and commitment.

Text and Translation

Kyrie

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Gloria

Gloria in excelsis Deo,
et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te,
adoramus te, glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam
gloriam tuam,
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens.

Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe,
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris,
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis; 

Qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris,
miserere nobis. 

Quoniam tu solus sanctus,
tu solus Dominus,
tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe,
cum Sancto Spiritu
in gloria Dei Patris.  Amen.

Glory be to God on high,
and on earth peace to men of good will.
We praise Thee, we bless Thee,
We adore Thee, we glorify Thee.
We give Thee thanks for Thy
great glory
O Lord God, heavenly King,
God, the Father Almighty.

O Lord the only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us; 

Who takest away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer.
Who sittest at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.

For Thou alone art holy,
Thou alone art the Lord,
Thou alone art most high, O Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Ghost,
in the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

Credo

Credo in unum Deum, patrem omnipotentem,
factorem coeli et terræ,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
Filium Dei unigenitum;
et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine:
Deum verum de Deo vero;
genitum, non factum;
consubstantialem Patri,
per quem omnia facta sunt:
Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem,
descendit de coelis,

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, sub Pontio Pilato passus et sepultus est.

Et resurrexit tertia die,
secundum Scripturas.
Et ascendit in coelum,
sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria
judicare vivos et mortuos;
cujus regni non erit finis.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God;
born of the Father before all ages.
God of God, light of light,
true God of true God;
begotten, not made;
consubstantial with the Father,
by Whom all things were made:
Who for us men and for our salvation,
came down from heaven,

And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate and was buried.

And the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures.
And ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of the Father.
And He shall come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.

 

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum
et vivificantem,
qui ex Patre Filioque procedit;
qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur;
qui locutus est per Prophetas.
Et in unam sanctam Catholicam
et Apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum,
et vitam venturi sæculi.  Amen.

And [I believe] in the Holy Ghost, the Lord
and giver of life,
Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son;
Who, with the Father and the Son together, is adored and glorified;
Who spoke by the Prophets.
And [I believe] in one holy Catholic
and Apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
And I expect the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra
gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.

Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of hosts.
The heavens and the earth are full of
Thy Glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Benedictus

Benedictus qui venit in
nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.

Blessed is He Who cometh in the
name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis
peccata mundi,
miserere nobis, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, grant us peace.

 

Composer:  Beethoven Wiki Link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_C_major_%28Beethoven%29 Title of Musical Work:  Mass in C

London Concert Choir concerts featuring this musical work:

Beethoven
Beethoven Night
(8 July 2010)
Beethoven and Mozart
Mozart Vespers and Beethoven Mass in C
(13 November 2025)