Christus am Ölberge
Encyclopedia
Christus am Ölberge Op. 85, is an oratorio
by Ludwig van Beethoven
portraying the emotional turmoil of Jesus
in the garden of Gethsemane
prior to his crucifixion. It was begun in the fall of 1802, soon after his completion of the Heiligenstadt Testament, as indicated by evidence in the Wielhorsky sketchbook. The libretto
in German
is by the poet Franz Xaver Huber, editor of the Wiener Zeitung, with whom Beethoven worked closely. It was written in a very short period of time; in a letter to Breitkopf & Härtel
written shortly after the oratorio's completion, Beethoven spoke of having written it in "a few weeks", although he later claimed that the piece required no more than 14 days to complete. It was first performed on April 5, 1803 at the Theater an der Wien
in Vienna
; in 1811, it was revised by Beethoven for publication by Breitkopf & Härtel. The 10 years that passed between the composition of the work and its publication resulted in its being assigned a relatively high opus number.
or a dramatic opera
, and is considered a much more humanistic
portrayal of the Christ
passion
than other settings, such as those by Bach
. It concludes at the point of Jesus
personally accepting his fate, placing the emphasis on his own decision rather than the later Crucifixion
or Resurrection
. The oratorio is scored for soprano
, tenor
, and bass soloists, with standard SATB
chorus
and symphony orchestra
. The tenor sings as Jesus, with the soprano as a seraph
(angel
) and the bass as Peter
. A complete performance lasts approximately 50 minutes.
Beethoven was quite critical of the piece (his only oratorio) and of the performance of the orchestra and chorus at its premiere. He panned Huber's libretto, saying, in a 1824 letter to the Gesellschaft für Musikfreunde, "Let us leave out of consideration the value of poems of this sort. We all know that allowances are to be made... so far as I am concerned, I would rather set Homer
, Klopstock
, Schiller to music. If they offer difficulties to overcome, these immortal poets at least are worthy of it." (Beethoven eventually did set Schiller to music in his monumental Ninth Symphony
, nearly twenty years later.) The editors at Breitkopf & Härtel agreed with Beethoven's critical assessment of the text, and Christian Schreiber was enlisted to make massive changes to the libretto. However, upon reviewing the changes, Beethoven still was not happy, saying, "I know that the text is extremely bad, but if even a bad text is conceived as a whole entity, it is very difficult to avoid disrupting it by individual corrections".
".
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
portraying the emotional turmoil of Jesus
Agony in the Garden
The Agony in the Garden refers to the events in the life of Jesus between the Last Supper and Jesus' arrest. Jesus' struggle praying and discussing with God, before accepting his sacrifice, before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane also denotes a state of mind - agony.-Scriptural...
in the garden of Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
prior to his crucifixion. It was begun in the fall of 1802, soon after his completion of the Heiligenstadt Testament, as indicated by evidence in the Wielhorsky sketchbook. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
is by the poet Franz Xaver Huber, editor of the Wiener Zeitung, with whom Beethoven worked closely. It was written in a very short period of time; in a letter to Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
written shortly after the oratorio's completion, Beethoven spoke of having written it in "a few weeks", although he later claimed that the piece required no more than 14 days to complete. It was first performed on April 5, 1803 at the Theater an der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
; in 1811, it was revised by Beethoven for publication by Breitkopf & Härtel. The 10 years that passed between the composition of the work and its publication resulted in its being assigned a relatively high opus number.
Composition
The work is a dramatic oratorio rather than a religious choral MassMass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
or a dramatic opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, and is considered a much more humanistic
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
portrayal of the Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
than other settings, such as those by Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. It concludes at the point of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
personally accepting his fate, placing the emphasis on his own decision rather than the later Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
or Resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
. The oratorio is scored for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, and bass soloists, with standard SATB
SATB
In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and symphony orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. The tenor sings as Jesus, with the soprano as a seraph
Seraph
A seraph is a type of celestial being in Judaism and Christianity...
(angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
) and the bass as Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
. A complete performance lasts approximately 50 minutes.
Beethoven was quite critical of the piece (his only oratorio) and of the performance of the orchestra and chorus at its premiere. He panned Huber's libretto, saying, in a 1824 letter to the Gesellschaft für Musikfreunde, "Let us leave out of consideration the value of poems of this sort. We all know that allowances are to be made... so far as I am concerned, I would rather set Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
, Klopstock
Klopstock
Klopstock * Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock , a German poet** 9344 Klopstock , a Main-belt Asteroid discovered on 1991 by F. Borngen...
, Schiller to music. If they offer difficulties to overcome, these immortal poets at least are worthy of it." (Beethoven eventually did set Schiller to music in his monumental Ninth Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
, nearly twenty years later.) The editors at Breitkopf & Härtel agreed with Beethoven's critical assessment of the text, and Christian Schreiber was enlisted to make massive changes to the libretto. However, upon reviewing the changes, Beethoven still was not happy, saying, "I know that the text is extremely bad, but if even a bad text is conceived as a whole entity, it is very difficult to avoid disrupting it by individual corrections".
Reception
The critical response to the work's initial performance was mixed; while the Zeitung für die Elegante Welt's critic wrote that the oratorio contained "a few admirable passages", a review in the Freymüthige Blätter called the piece "too artificial in structure and lacking expressiveness, especially in the vocal music", and claimed that the performance "was unable to achieve really marked approbation". It has since drifted into obscurity, and is now rarely performed, being commonly regarded as falling below Beethoven's usual standards of excellence. However, the "Welten singen..." finale chorus has enjoyed some popularity on its own, usually being rendered as an "HallelujahHallelujah
Hallelujah, Halleluyah, and the Latin form Alleluia are transliterations of the Hebrew word meaning "Praise Yah". The last syllable is from the first two letters of the name of God, YHWH, written JHVH in Latin). Hallelujah is found primarily in the book of Psalms...
".
Recordings
| Year | Soloists (Jesus, Seraph, Peter) |
Conductor, Orchestra and Chorus |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Jan Peerce Jan Peerce Jan Peerce was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recording artist. He is the father of film director Larry Peerce.... , Maria Stader Maria Stader Maria Stader was a Hungarian born Swiss lyric soprano, known particularly for her Mozart interpretations.-Biography:... , Otto Wiener Otto Wiener Otto Wiener was an Austrian baritone, notable for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner.He was born in Vienna, joined the Vienna Boys' Choir at the age of six, and started his adult career as a concert singer before making his stage debut in 1953 at Graz in the title-role of Simon... |
Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens... , Vienna State Opera Orchestra Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian... and Vienna Academy Chorus |
Westminster Records Westminster Records Westminster Records was an American classical music record label, issuing original recordings from 1949 to 1965.It was founded in 1949 by Mischa Naida, the owner of the Westminster Record shop in New York City, businessman James Grayson, and conductor Henry Swoboda... |
| 1992 | James Anderson, Monica Pick-Hieronimi, Victor van Halem |
Serge Baudo Serge Baudo Serge Baudo is a French conductor, the son of the oboist Étienne Baudo. He is the nephew of the cellist Paul Tortelier.... Orchestre National de Lyon Orchestre National de Lyon The Orchestre National de Lyon is a French orchestra based in Lyon. Its current primary concert venue is l'Auditorium de Lyon. The orchestra operates with the help of a subsidy from the French Ministry of Culture and from the Rhône-Alpes regional council... , with chorus |
Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony".... |
| 2000 | Michael Brodard, Maria Venuti Maria Venuti - Life / Career :Venuti was born to an Italian father and an Egyptian mother.She began her career as a 'performer' on Brian Henderson's Bandstand and on The Mike Walsh Show in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early 1990s, she had guest roles in A Country Practice and in G.P.It wasn't until 2000 that she... , Keith Lewis |
Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"... Bach-Collegium Stuttgart Bach-Collegium Stuttgart Bach-Collegium Stuttgart is an internationally known German instrumental ensemble, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1965 to accompany the Gächinger Kantorei in choral music with orchestra... and Gachinger Kantorei Gächinger Kantorei Gächinger Kantorei is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen and still conducted by him. A "Kantorei" is a choir of high standard dedicated mostly, but not exclusively, to sacred music. The ensemble operates in Stuttgart now and is therefore... |
Hänssler Classic Hänssler Classic Hänssler Classic is a German classical record label based in Holzgerlingen.Friedrich Hänssler Senior founded Musikverlag Hänssler in 1919 to publish church music. Since 1972 Hänssler Classic has also published contemporary and jazz music... |