Beethoven – Missa Solemnis

Ludwig van Beethoven – Missa Solemnis: Opus 123

The Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123, is a solemn mass composed by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1819 to 1823. It was first performed on 7 April 1824 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, under the auspices of Beethoven’s patron Prince Nikolai Galitzin; an incomplete performance was given in Vienna on 7 May 1824, when the Kyrie, Credo, and Agnus Dei were conducted by the composer.[1] It is generally considered one of the composer’s supreme achievements and, along with Bach’s Mass in B minor, one of the most significant Mass settings of the common practice period.
Written around the same time as his Ninth Symphony, it is Beethoven’s second setting of the Mass, after his Mass in C major, Op. 86. The work was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf of Austria, archbishop of Olomouc, Beethoven’s foremost patron as well as pupil and friend. The copy presented to Rudolf was inscribed “Von Herzen—Möge es wieder—Zu Herzen gehn!” (“From the heart – may it return to the heart!”)

1. I Kyrie 9:54
2. II Gloria 5:01
3. Qui Tollis 6:19
4. Quoniam 6:40
5. III Credo 4:29
6. El Incarnatus est 6:09
7. Et Resurrexit 10:42
8. IV Sanctus 5:39
9. Benedictus 11:05
10. V Angus Dei 6:44
11. Dona nobis pacem 9:21

#MusicHistory
#ClassicalMusic
#Beethoven