Conducted by Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Dresden and Dresden State Opera Chorus perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123. Soloists: Krassimira Stoyanova, soprano; Elīna Garanča, mezzo-soprano; Michael Schade, tenor; Franz-Josef Selig, bass. This performance was recorded in Dresden in February 2010.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis
Missa Solemnis is Latin for solemn mass and is a genre of musical settings of the ordinary mass, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, as opposed to the more modest Missa Brevis. In French, the genre is “Messe Solennelle”. The terms came into use in the classical period.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123, is one of the most ambitious and profound works in his oeuvre, a monumental composition that transcends traditional liturgical music. Composed between 1819 and 1823, it was originally intended to celebrate the enthronement of Beethoven’s friend and patron, Archduke Rudolph, as Archbishop of Olomouc. Although Beethoven missed the deadline for the ceremony, the Missa Solemnis became a deeply personal spiritual statement, reflecting his intense religious beliefs, philosophical questions, and creative genius.
The Missa Solemnis is not simply a Mass setting but rather a complex and expressive meditation on faith, humanity, and the divine. Beethoven poured himself into the work, viewing it as a “sincere act of devotion,” and believed it should speak to listeners’ inner spirituality, regardless of their religious background. Unlike traditional church music of the time, the Missa Solemnis breaks conventions with its grand orchestration, intricate choral writing, and length, requiring significant technical and emotional commitment from its performers.
One of the most striking aspects of the Missa Solemnis is its fusion of symphonic and choral forms, pushing the boundaries of choral music in Beethoven’s era. The scoring is elaborate, involving a large orchestra, soloists, and a full choir, all of whom are essential to the composition’s emotional and dramatic power. Beethoven’s use of counterpoint is particularly intricate, drawing on his admiration for the works of composers like J.S. Bach and Handel. He integrated complex polyphonic structures into his Mass, creating a richly textured sound that reflects the layered complexities of faith and introspection.
The themes within the Missa Solemnis reflect Beethoven’s deep exploration of the sacred. Each section of the Mass setting carries a particular emotional weight, from joy and reverence to solemn introspection. Beethoven reportedly studied Latin liturgical texts intensely, striving to understand their spiritual and emotional implications deeply. He even annotated parts of the score with personal reflections, such as “From the heart-may it go to the heart,” indicating his desire to reach listeners on a deeply emotional and human level.
Although it was not well understood in Beethoven’s lifetime, the Missa Solemnis has since been recognized as one of the pinnacle achievements of sacred music, comparable in scope and depth to Bach’s Mass in B minor. Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis stands as a profound testament to the composer’s personal convictions and his quest for spiritual expression through music, embodying the Romantic ideal of art as a means of personal and universal exploration of the divine.
Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis Structure
Like most masses, the work is in five movements. With the starting times in the video:
1. Kyrie [0:00:08]
The Kyrie of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis opens the work with a reverent, almost prayer-like atmosphere, embodying the traditional structure and solemnity of the Mass. This movement adheres to a classical ABA’ structure, where the initial Kyrie eleison (“Lord, have mercy”) and its return at the end frame the central Christe eleison (“Christ, have mercy”). The opening Kyrie features majestic choral writing, with each phrase introduced by the orchestra and then taken up by the choir in a stately, homophonic manner, allowing the music’s simplicity and gravity to emerge with clarity and depth.
In the Christe section, Beethoven introduces the four vocal soloists, who take on a more intricate, contrapuntal texture. This contrast brings an added layer of intimacy and tenderness, as the individual voices interact in delicate, interweaving lines. Beethoven’s skillful use of counterpoint here reflects his admiration for Baroque choral traditions, infusing the movement with a timeless quality. The soloists and choir engage in a subtle dialogue, with the soloists’ lines bringing a human, personal dimension to the plea for mercy.
Beethoven’s choice to frame the Kyrie in this traditional format, with clear contrasts between the sections, allows for a balance between the grandeur of the choral passages and the introspective, nuanced soloist interactions. The movement thus serves as an invocation, a humble yet powerful opening to the Mass, embodying both reverence and personal sincerity as it reaches for the divine.

2. Gloria [0:10:20]
The Gloria of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis is a vibrant, jubilant expression, characterized by rapidly shifting textures and a variety of thematic ideas that reflect each line of the traditional Gloria text. Beethoven’s treatment of this movement is almost encyclopedic, exploring the rhythmic possibilities of 3/4 time with a bold, celebratory energy. The opening section bursts forth with a lively, assertive theme that embodies the spirit of praise, with the choir and orchestra alternating in passages of full, radiant sound.
Throughout the movement, Beethoven shifts between contrasting textures-ranging from robust choral declarations to more intricate, dance-like orchestral passages. These rapid transitions mirror the breadth and richness of the Gloria text, capturing its various themes of divine majesty, peace, and joy. The choral writing in this section is particularly striking, as Beethoven uses both homophonic blocks and more complex polyphonic structures to bring out the nuances of the text.
The climax of the Gloria is Beethoven’s first large-scale fugue of the Missa Solemnis, set to the words “In Gloria Dei Patris. Amen.” This powerful fugue builds layer upon layer of counterpoint, showcasing Beethoven’s mastery of Baroque-inspired techniques within a Romantic framework. The intricate voices of the choir intertwine, creating an intense, almost overwhelming sense of exaltation. Following this monumental fugue, Beethoven brings back the opening Gloria theme, allowing the movement to conclude with a return to its initial joyous spirit. This structure, from varied textures to grand fugue and final recapitulation, makes the Gloria both a celebration of divine glory and a testament to Beethoven’s ambitious and innovative approach to sacred music.
3. Credo [0:29:10]
The Credo in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis is a dynamic, intense portrayal of the core beliefs of the Christian faith, set in a frenzied musical landscape that mirrors the complexity and profundity of the text. Opening with a unique chord sequence, Beethoven uses this motif throughout to anchor and effect modulations across the movement, providing structural coherence amidst the fast-paced musical journey. Like the Gloria, the Credo moves through its text with rapid transitions and vigorous energy, often disorienting, yet powerful in its expressive force.
The movement is divided into four distinct sections, each exploring different aspects of the Credo text. The first section (allegro ma non troppo), set in B-flat, establishes a fervent tone as it introduces the opening lines. The music shifts in the second section with the “Et incarnatus est” passage, where poignant modal harmonies evoke a sense of reverence and mystery, followed by the deeply expressive “Crucifixus.” The Credo reaches a remarkable a cappella moment at the “Et resurrexit,” a brief but striking statement of resurrection that vanishes almost as quickly as it appears, leaving an echo of hope and triumph.
The musical journey continues in the third section, where Beethoven brings the text back into the triumphant “Et ascendit” and leads into a recapitulation of the Credo theme in F, reaffirming the core beliefs with renewed strength. However, it is the fourth and final section, with its breathtaking fugue on “Et vitam venturi saeculi” (“And the life of the world to come”), that forms the climax of the movement. This fugue is among the most challenging in the choral repertoire, building with relentless momentum as the subject returns at double tempo, culminating in an electrifying conclusion.
Beethoven’s Credo is, thus, not merely a recitation of faith but a dramatic, emotionally charged assertion, combining the intensity of rhythmic drive, harmonic variety, and the technical demands of complex counterpoint. It captures the exhilaration and devotion inherent in the Credo text, pushing the performers and listeners alike through an intense, spiritual experience that resonates well beyond the liturgical context.
4. Sanctus [0:51:09]
In the Sanctus of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, the composer reaches one of the work’s most spiritually profound and transcendent moments. Up until the Benedictus section, the Missa Solemnis follows relatively traditional classical proportions, with rich choral textures and stately orchestral writing that convey the reverence of the sacred text. However, the Sanctus takes an unexpected turn with an orchestral preludio that serves as a bridge into the Benedictus, setting the stage for an extraordinary moment of beauty and intimacy.
In the Benedictus, Beethoven introduces a solo violin that enters at its highest, ethereal register, symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit to Earth. The violin’s delicate, soaring melody contrasts sharply with the preceding grandeur, capturing a sense of divine presence and touching on an otherworldly beauty. This is not merely an instrumental interlude but a profoundly spiritual expression, as the violin seems to communicate directly with the heavens, floating above the choral and orchestral accompaniment.
What follows is a remarkably extended setting of the text, stretching far beyond traditional liturgical proportions. The choir joins the violin in a gentle, reverent repetition of “Benedictus,” allowing Beethoven to evoke a sense of timelessness as if the earthly and heavenly realms are merging. The serene interplay between solo violin, choir, and orchestra suggests an almost mystical experience, drawing the listener into a contemplation of divine grace.
The Sanctus, with its remarkable extension and the ethereal solo violin, represents one of Beethoven’s most sublime expressions of spirituality. It shifts the listener’s focus from grandeur to intimacy, emphasizing the quiet, personal encounter with the sacred. This section remains a highlight of the Missa Solemnis, capturing Beethoven’s vision of music as a direct channel to the divine.
5. Agnus Dei: [1:09:14]
The Agnus Dei of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis is a profound and moving conclusion to the work, blending a plea for mercy with an intense yearning for peace. The movement opens with a solemn setting of the words “miserere nobis” (“have mercy on us”), voiced by the men alone in a somber B minor. The restrained, haunting quality of this opening emphasizes the gravity of the text, as if voicing a deeply personal and communal plea in the face of suffering. The men’s voices echo one another, conveying an atmosphere of quiet desperation that is both intimate and solemn.
As the movement progresses, this somber tone is transformed by the entrance of the brighter, pastoral “dona nobis pacem” (“grant us peace”) in D major. This shift to a more serene and hopeful atmosphere reflects a vision of peace that is both tender and deeply felt. The choir’s entrance, accompanied by a gentle orchestration, creates a sense of calm that feels almost like a prayer in song. Beethoven incorporates some fugal development here, building complexity while keeping the tone pastoral and uplifting, as the choir’s voices interweave in a delicate yet unified plea for peace.
However, this serenity is suddenly disrupted by martial sounds-echoing the conventions of Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli (Mass in Time of War). The warlike interjections jolt the listener, as if reminding them of the fragility of peace amid the ever-present threat of conflict. The movement becomes turbulent as the choir repeatedly cries “miserere,” a reminder of the constant human struggle for mercy and peace. Yet, after these pleas, the music slowly regains its composure, moving toward a dignified conclusion.
The Agnus Dei thus embodies Beethoven’s deep ambivalence toward peace and conflict. While the pastoral sections express an idealized vision of peace, the martial interruptions ground the movement in the reality of human strife. By returning to a stately calm in the final passages, Beethoven leaves the Missa Solemnis with a message that is both hopeful and unresolved, capturing the complex, often tenuous human aspiration for lasting peace.
Sources
- Missa Solemnis (Beethoven) on Wikipedia
- Missa solemnis, Op. 123 (Beethoven, Ludwig van) on the International Music Score Library Project website
- “Beethoven’s music: John Suchet explores the Missa Solemnis” on the Classic FM website
- Missa Solemnis (work by Beethoven) on the Encyclopedia Britannica website