Opus 123 – “Missa solemnis” for soloists, choir, orchestra, and organ
I) Kyrie (Assai sostenuto) – II) Gloria (Allegro vivace) – III) Credo (Allegro ma non troppo) – IV) Sanctus (Adagio) – Praeludium (Sostenuto ma non troppo) – V) Benedictus (Andante molto cantabile e non troppo mosso) – VI) Agnus Dei (Adagio)
Opus 123 Missa solemnis, for soloists, choir, orchestra, and organ, Op. 123, dedicated to Archduke Rudolf of Austria, Cardinal and Archbishop of Olomouc, 1819 – mid-1823, published in full score, vocal and orchestral parts, and piano reduction in Mainz by Schott, March–April 1825. GA no. 203 (series 19/1) – B. 123 – KH. 123 – L. IV, p. 141 – N. 123 – T. 229.
The original manuscript (except for that of the Gloria, whose current location is unknown) is preserved at the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. Sketches are referenced by Nottebohm. On the score is inscribed the words: “Von Herzen möge es wieder zu Herzen gehen” (“From the heart, may it reach the heart”). The Mass was originally intended to be performed on the occasion of Archduke Rudolf of Austria’s installation (he had been appointed Archbishop on 4 June 1819) in Olomouc. However, during the course of its composition, the work’s conception grew and deepened so much that its completion required a considerably longer period of time.
The score was offered by subscription at a price of 50 ducats per copy. The first subscribers included the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, the King of France, the King of Denmark, the Elector of Saxony, the Archduke of Darmstadt, the Archduke of Tuscany, Prince Galitzin, Prince Radziwiłł, and the “Cecilia” Society of Frankfurt.
A major performance, however limited to the Kyrie, Credo, and Agnus Dei, took place on 7 May 1824 at the Kärntnertor Theatre in Vienna, in a concert—now famous—featuring all of Beethoven’s new works. Alongside Umlauf, Beethoven indicated at the beginning of each movement that he was “taking part,” as stated in the public announcement, “in the overall direction.” Two other complete performances should also be noted: an earlier one on 18 April 1824 at the Philharmonic Society in Saint Petersburg, organised by Prince Galitzin, and a later one on 29 June 1830 in Warnsdorf, Bohemia.
I. Kyrie – Assai sostenuto. Mit Andacht.
Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, and organ.
The threefold invocation of the text (Kyrie, Christe, Kyrie) corresponds to three distinct musical sections. The first (Kyrie) is preceded by a brief orchestral introduction, which anticipates and establishes its expressive character. The movement is essentially choral, but the soloists participate at the outset as chosen representatives of the multitude, each taking up its cry in turn and elevating the supplication. In the second section, a vocalise (Eleison) wraps around the slower, more painfully introspective theme (Christe). Due to a certain expressive affinity, this episode can be related to the Miserere of the Qui tollis and the first Agnus Dei. The choir gradually joins the quartet of soloists, eventually forming a pianissimo culmination. The orchestra then returns to the contemplative mood of the initial introduction, unfolding the third section (Kyrie eleison), which, though different from the first in key (only returning to the original at the end), phrasing, and modulations, concludes serenely.
II. Gloria
Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings, organ.
The movement is built upon a bold, soaring theme that incorporates the character of the Gregorian chant. Around this, rhythmic echoes, rising lines, swelling, and intertwining vocalises create the impression of a jubilant crowd and convey an inner sense of festivity. Et in terra pax takes on a pastoral character. The movement of voices from the upper register to the lower and the shifting sonorities produce a contrast reminiscent of the chorus “und Friede auf Erden” from Handel’s Messiah, an author known to have been especially dear to Beethoven.
Laudamus te and benedicimus te are launched by the four choral voices in unison, using the same theme as the opening of the Gloria. This exuberant festivity is briefly interrupted by Adoramus te, which, with solemn sweetness, resolves into a perfect major chord, only to be renewed in Glorificamus te, rising and spreading, though momentarily paused by another Adoramus te. The sudden pianissimo of the final orchestral chord and the modulation that follows lead into the almost languid atmosphere of Gratias agimus, sung first by the soloists and then taken up by the choir.
A new choral outburst on the Gloria theme occurs with Domine Deus, rex celestis. Domine Fili Unigenite, sung by the soloists on a motif reminiscent of the Qui tollis from the C major Mass. The choir responds with vigour: Jesu Christe, followed by a return of the Gloria theme: Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Unlike the first Mass, the Qui tollis appears in fragments, passing frequently between choir and soloists. A greater sense of tenderness and trust imbues Suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris” is sung by the choir to a solemn rhythm; then, from the ensuing choral murmur, the soloists’ chant “Miserere nobis” blossoms, and the plea for mercy spreads through the voices of the soloists and choir with a vehement, imploring intensity. A fortissimo proclaims “Quoniam tu solus sanctus, tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris”, introducing the fugue on “Amen”. The return, at the end of this section, of “Gloria in excelsis Deo” in Presto brings the exaltation to a frenzied height, driven by the relentless rhythm and tonal shifts. The final cry breaks free from the instrumental chord and resounds solely in the voices, like an unrestrainable echo reverberating from the heavens.
III. Credo – Allegro ma non troppo
Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, strings, organ.
The profession of faith is proclaimed by the choir with the essential opening theme: “Credo, credo” (a few years later Beethoven would recall this theme again, writing a canon for the Courland official Dusterlohe, adapting the first words of a well-known Lutheran hymn: “Gott ist eine feste Burg” — “God is my strong fortress”). This theme intertwines with the accompanying text: “et in unum Deum, Patrem Omnipotentem, etc.”, where both the movement’s energy and the unity of harmony and rhythm underscore its fundamentally “heroic” character. Yet there are occasional moments of awe or wonder: “et invisibilium… ante omnia saecula”.
A new theme rises, its rhythm leaping from voice to voice, overlapping in increasingly clear harmonies, like echoes from heaven to heaven, magnifying the Divinity: “Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine”. “Consubstantialem Patri” resounds like a martial hymn, and after the solemn “Qui propter nos homines”, the picturesque “Descendit de caelis” follows.
The incarnation, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus take on a more intimate character. “Incarnatus est” is sung by the tenor on a melody of Gregorian character, then taken up by the other soloists and finally the choir — murmured almost as a contemplation of the mystery, resolved again by the tenor: “et homo factus est”. His final note falls on a different orchestral background, which announces the Passion with a harsh, sorrowful, and quivering theme. In the voices and orchestra, increasingly desolate episodes of the crucifixion, death, and descent into the tomb unfold, forming a unified tableau of ever-darker hues until the choir’s final murmur: “et sepultus est”.
“Resurrexit tertia die secundum scripturas” is first sung by the choir, then by the tenors, and finally by all, impetuously — in the silence of the instruments, as an overlay of vocal fanfares. Immediately after, ascending scales emerge in the voices and orchestra, starting from the lowest registers, pressing and overlapping to convey a nearly physical sense of space: “Ascendit in coelum”. The choir continues: “Sedet ad dexteram Patris”, supported by an orchestral theme of almost rustic cheerfulness.
With the final words “Cum gloria”, the jubilant animation fades over a descending scale in the strings and woodwinds, leading to a low D♭ on a trombone in the silence of all other instruments. This signals the call of the Last Judgment, which the voices then proclaim — first the altos supported by two trombones and the horns, then the entire choir reinforced by the full orchestra. A violently contrasting episode follows between the word “vivos”, syllabicated three times over sharply struck chords at rhythmic intervals, and the word “mortuos”, sombre, dragged, and resolved in unison, giving the impression of emptiness or annihilation.
The return of the rustic, jovial theme brings the voices to “Cuius regni non erit finis”, itself crowned by three characteristic Non—strongly articulated: the last absorbed into the heroic order of the Credo theme, which reappears to give rise to a particular episode. Here, while some groups of choral voices repeatedly affirm “Credo, credo” on the notes of the theme itself, others, accompanying the movement with a more rapid succession of notes and words, articulate the dogmatic articles: “Credo 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: credo in unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam; confiteor unum baptisma in remissione peccatorum.”
Thus, the fundamental enthusiastic sentiment of faith wholly absorbs the individual articles. A concordant progression carries the theme to the concluding form: “Et expecto resurrectionem …” At the word “mortuorum”, all the voices descend to pianissimo, only to rise immediately afterwards, continuing: “Et… et vitam venturi saeculi, amen.”
On these final words unfolds the concluding fugue. The theme is joyful, yet deliberate and assertive in its insistent pounding, softened by the vocalises that envelop it. In the stretto, the ascent of the “Amen” in succession from one voice to another, and the more massive rise of “Et vitam venturi saeculi” over the thundering pedal of the organ, timpani, and double basses—interrupted by other “Amen” cries at rhythmic intervals—reaches, like the summit of a hard-won peak, the Grave, where the choral mass condenses its final energies into a solemn movement.
The quartet of soloists then carries the chant into a region of higher spirituality: perhaps not coincidentally, the soprano’s melodic motif recalls the aria “Komm, Hoffnung” from Fidelio. The multitude submits to this chant, following it with the light phrasing of its detached notes. The fundamental, assertive rhythm of the theme now returns, gentle and calm in the instruments and voices, then once more, fortissimo, almost a war cry against every enemy assault, in an “Amen” repeated twice at rhythmic intervals. Immediately after, the instrumental sonorities thin and lighten, unfolding and rarefying into divergent lines toward the high and low registers, finally resolving into a sweet gravity in the closing passage.
IV. Sanctus, Präludium, and Benedictus
Orchestra: In the Sanctus and Benedictus: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings, organ.
In the Präludium: 2 flutes, 2 bassoons, violas, cellos, double basses, organ.
The distinctive atmosphere of the Sanctus Adagio is created, before the entry of the voices, by the orchestra (notably, the violins, flutes, and oboes are absent here, while the brass, clarinets, bassoons, organ, cellos, and divisi violas are employed characteristically). The orchestra devoutly (as in the Kyrie) announces a slow ascending theme through imitative passages, followed by another in the trombones of a certain hieratic colour. The chant unfolds upon the first theme and recalls, by analogy, the introduction of the Kyrie. To the contemplative mood is added a sense of fervent, adoring expectation, which is then suddenly interrupted by the entry of the fugato Allegro pesante: “Pleni sunt coeli gloria tua; hosanna in excelsis”, sustained by the full orchestra, evoking the spirit of the Gloria in excelsis Deo. Another Hosanna follows, equally fugato but lighter and swifter in its movement (Presto, 3/4).
The instrumental passage of the Präludium consecrates the moment in the liturgical celebration that follows the acclamation of the Sanctus, during which the transubstantiation takes place. Then, on the wings of a melody in the violin and flutes, seeming to descend from ethereal regions, the multitude exalts the humble yet immense triumph of their Lord: “Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini” – Andante molto cantabile. The melody settles into the peace of a rhythm that may be called pastoral, delicately solemn in its accompaniment by the brass.
After the first entry of the basses, the episode continues for some time in the orchestra alone; then the soloists (alto and bass, then soprano and tenor, then all) sing the same melody in canon, intertwined with the sinuous flourishes of the violin. The voices of the multitude, subsequently rising from various choral groups, unite in a single acclamation, then divide and overlap again, continuing and concluding the chant. A reprise by the soloists follows the original pattern, though in abbreviated form, proceeding to the conclusion with the intervention of the choir, this time limited to the ascending triple acclamation: “In nomine Domini”.
At the end, as if resolving the movement after contemplative stillness, the soloists intone the “Hosanna”, initiating the fugato ascent of the choir, which elevates the acclamation “in excelsis”. With the return of the Benedictus in the voices and orchestra, the movement concludes piously.
V. Agnus Dei
Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings.
The sense of unease, latent elsewhere in the Mass, finds in the Agnus Dei an outlet in a form freer from stylistic or traditional constraints. Beethoven interwove the different musical elements in which the words “miserere” and “pacem” are expressed (so that amidst the peaceful hymn the invocation of mercy resurfaces; and the echo of unrest remains, though muted, even to the final bars). He also imparted particular dramatic intensity to the invocation itself, and a distinct Romantic colouring to the expression of peace.
The first section is a desolate prayer entrusted primarily to the soloists’ voices, eventually joined by the choir, which repeats “Miserere nobis” slowly, almost funereally, in a curve of crescendo and diminuendo. The final, modulating “Agnus Dei” rises with trepidation, as if the praying multitude suddenly glimpses a glimmer of hope above. “Dona” is sung by the sopranos, “Dona” continues with the basses, then altos and basses together; from the gradual descent of the voices emerges the serene harmony of D major, within which rises the responsive chant corresponding to the altered course of feeling dictated by the words: “Dona nobis pacem.”
Beethoven annotated the score here: “Prayer for internal and external peace.” In the fortunate period Europe had experienced during the Napoleonic era, the spirit of war had penetrated almost everywhere; the echoes of trumpets, drums, clashes, and wartime turmoil still resonated in Beethoven’s memory, touching his sensitivity as both man and artist. Just as Haydn had introduced, in the Agnus Dei of his C major Mass of 1796, titled “in tempore belli”, an invocation against the perils of war—hinted at through a restrained but characteristic use of timpani, horns, and trumpets to suggest the din of military upheaval—so here the master employs a similar musical device, yet endowed with far greater artistic substance, dramatic intensity, poetic imagination, and developmental scope.
With the descent of the choral voices in D major on the words “Dona nobis pacem”, we return to the definitive pastoral domain, always dear to Beethoven’s spirit. The character of the melody on which “pacem” is vocalised, and certain instrumental gestures, even recall the Thanksgiving Song and the Scene by the Brook from the Sixth Symphony, composed about fifteen years earlier. The melody also bears affinity to that of the Benedictus, and finds a parallel in bars 3–5 of the Cantabile section in the final fugue of the Piano Sonata, Op. 106.
The episode unfolds at length, but at its triumphant conclusion, the sudden arrival of B-flat major, with the rhythm marked by the timpani, announces a completely different world. An agitated figure moves through the strings; a distant trumpet fanfare joins the timpani. In a recitative, the alto voice, on a tremolo of strings, timidly invokes (as indicated in the score): “Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi…” The unsettling appeal is repeated. With growing agitation, as if defending against the onslaught of danger, the tenor, followed by the choir, continues: “Agnus Dei… miserere, miserere nobis!” The anguish intensifies in the soprano’s cry, which, just as the fanfare sounds a third time in fortissimo, invokes: “Agnus Dei, dona …”; and “Dona” is echoed by the alto and tenor in response. The tremolo of the strings diminishes in intensity; and in a new key, the peaceful prayer returns, this time in the soloists.
Yet in another interruption, the theme itself reappears, distorted in the orchestra and interwoven, as if in struggle, with another stark, sharp theme, giving rise to an agitated instrumental episode, culminating in the entry of trumpets, trombones, and timpani with vigorous rhythm, supported also by woodwinds and strings. The cry of the multitude erupts: “Agnus Dei!” Trumpets, trombones, and timpani insist again, this time alone, in a simpler and more emphatic form; the choir, reinforced by the full orchestra, resumes the invocation: “Dona pacem!” Above, the soprano rises, ultimately reaching the highest note of the dissonant harmony, emphasising the sense of anguish. Then the dissonance resolves, the clamor dies away, and the pastoral theme descends once more in the clear key of D major, developing in the two vocal registers in briefer yet still yearning forms. The timpani again lightly hint, twice, at their sombre rhythm. The final phrase of the chant responds, concluding with an affirmative instrumental epilogue, signifying the peaceful, definitive triumph.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: Opus 123 Missa solemnis (D-dur) für Soli, Chor und Orchester Widmung: Erzherzog Rudolph von Österreich NGA VIII/3 AGA 203 = Serie 19/1
Creation and Publication: Beethoven composed the Mass from April 1819 to January 1823 in Vienna. He interrupted the work several times, for example to compose the three Piano Sonatas op.109–111 or due to serious illnesses. On 19 March 1823, Archduke Rudolf received a fair copy of the Mass by a copyist, with a dedication, and between 1823 and 1825 ten printed copies were made by subscription, sold to various European courts, aristocratic figures, and institutions. In January 1825, Beethoven provided the model for engraving to the publisher Schott in Mainz, and the original edition in full score, individual parts, and piano reduction was published in March/April 1827.
On 20 January 1819, the Prince-Archbishop of Olomouc, Maria Thaddäus von Trautmannsdorff, passed away; his coadjutor with right of succession had been Archduke Rudolf since 24 June 1805. In a congratulatory letter of 3 March 1819 on the „neue[n] Würde“, Beethoven first announced his intention to compose a Mass for the occasion:
“The day on which a High Mass of mine shall be performed for the celebrations of His Imperial and Royal Highness will be the happiest day of my life, and God will enlighten me so that my feeble powers may contribute to the glorification of this festive day” (BGA 1292).
Beethoven’s initiative was certainly motivated by the hope of becoming orchestral director at Rudolf’s court in Olomouc. On 24 March 1819, Rudolf was elected the new capitular archbishop of Olomouc Cathedral.
The first written ideas for the Mass appear in a conversation notebook dated 2 April:
“Preludieren des Kyrie vom Organisten stark u. abnehmend bis vor dem Kyrie piano” (BKh 1 p. 42). Regarding the more precise dating of the various stages of sketches and development of individual sections, several studies exist, with key works listed in chronological order of publication: Lester/Kyrie, Winter/Opl23, JTW, Drabkin/Opl23, Drabkin/Opl23 Sketches, Lodes/Gloria, Gertsch/NGA VIII/3, Kinderman/Artarial95, Drabkin/Artarial97, Kinderman/Chronology. The results of these studies do not always converge into a uniform picture: the first sketches for the Kyrie date from April 1819, and evidently Beethoven began writing the autograph score shortly thereafter, in April/May. The score was completed by February/March 1820. The first sketches for the Gloria date from around June 1819. The autograph score for this section was not begun before November/December 1819 and was probably completed in the summer of 1820, with revisions in the autumn of the same year.
The first phase of sketches for the Credo began around November/December 1819 and continued until June 1820. By March, sketches for the first movement of Piano Sonata op.109 were already completed, on which Beethoven worked intensively from June to approximately October. Beethoven may have begun writing the Credo score in the summer of 1820, elaborating large portions of the piece, which he then revised completely in 1821. In the autumn of 1820, Beethoven was working on the (Sanctus) Benedictus. Sketches and the autograph score of the Benedictus were written in October/November of that year (the Sanctus may have been begun in early 1821). The first sketches for the Agnus Dei date from October 1820. A main phase of sketches for this section was written between March and August 1821. Beethoven was barely able to work for most of 1821 due to various illnesses, including a severe jaundice, and was only reasonably recovered by September. The first works completed were the Piano Sonatas op.110 and 111.
The second phase of work on the Agnus Dei, focusing primarily on the Dona nobis, followed between March and August 1822. The Agnus Dei score was completed by the end of 1822. The full score of the Credo, Sanctus–Benedictus, and Agnus Dei was available by the end of 1822, but no later than January 1823. In mid-1823 (and to a lesser extent in the early months of 1824), Beethoven added trombone parts.
Archduke Rudolf’s elevation took place on 9 March 1820 in Olomouc. In October 1819, Beethoven had assured him that the Mass would be “soon completed” (BGA 1341), although he had already mentioned difficulties in August (BGA 1327). As only the Kyrie was available at that time, Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Mass in B-flat major op.77 was used for the ceremony. Even after the celebrations, Beethoven continued to postpone completing the Mass. On 19 March 1823, the Archduke personally received the dedicated score.
The first mention of a subscription for copies of the Mass appears in a letter from Johann van Beethoven to the Parisian publisher Antonio Pacini, dated 27 December 1822 (BGA 1518). Between January 1823 and February 1824, Beethoven offered the Mass to 28 princely courts, individuals, and institutions. Ten subscribed and received their copies between around July 1823 and mid-1825: Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hesse-Darmstadt, King Frederick William III of Prussia, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Prince Nikolaus Galitzin, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, the Cäcilienverein of Frankfurt, King Louis XVIII of France, Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany, King Frederick VI of Denmark, and Prince Anton Heinrich von Radziwill.
In the spring of 1820, Beethoven had already begun negotiations with the publisher. On 10 February of that year, he offered the Mass to the Bonn publisher Nikolaus Simrock for 125 Louis d’or and emphasised that it „would soon be performed“ (BGA 1365).
In the course of an offer to Diabelli, Beethoven also considered adding a gradual, offertory, and tantum ergo to the Missa Solemnis (BKh 3 p.127s). The idea may have arisen in connection with a projected Mass for the Emperor (see BGA 1578), which he ultimately did not complete. As early as 1821, the sketchbook “Artaria 197” contains sketches that could refer to this project: on page 4 there is a harmonic model for a tantum ergo (see Cooper/Tantumergo), and on page 27 Beethoven annotates above the staff “offertorium” and sketches “für einen chor”.
In March 1823, Beethoven had Moriz von Dietrichstein procure graduals and offertories that could be used as Proprium Studium (these notes are preserved today in D-B, Mus. ms. autogr. Beethoven 38,22). In early July, he informed his copyist Schlemmer, who was copying the Mass:
“Three new pieces are still to come” (BKh 3 p.351). In September, he explained to his nephew Karl the process of the sacramental blessing and the Latin text of the tantum ergo (BKh 4 p.119, 169s). As with many other projects in Beethoven’s compositional life, this one, too, never came to fruition.
The sketches will be featured in an article specially created for the Beethovenian Music Research Center, www.lvbeethoven.org
Missa Solemnis
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Opus 123 – “Missa solemnis” for soloists, choir, orchestra, and organ
Article on the auction held on 15 January 2014 at 7:00 PM in Amherst, New Hampshire. Source: 1-100.it
The sketch manuscript of this extraordinary piece of classical music history, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, is currently owned by a European collector who wishes to remain anonymous. Unknown until 1996, it was discovered among the papers of Anton Schindler, Beethoven’s private secretary and first biographer.
On 5 December of the same year, it was auctioned by Sotheby’s in London for $110,000.
The precious document (11 cm × 9.5 cm), written on both sides, is undated but is believed to date from around 1820–1821. Schindler added a few annotations in the margins, in ink and pencil: “Sketches for the Sanctus of the Second Mass in 3/4 time” at the bottom of the front of the sheet, and “Idea for the Benedictus of the Second Mass” on the back, left side.
As evidenced by the vertical crease in the manuscript, it appears to have been folded to fit in a pocket; the composer was indeed known for always carrying paper and pencil in his jacket pocket so that he could record his musical ideas wherever he was. In this case too, the sheet, written in ink, contains later passages and annotations in pencil.
Musicologist William Kinderman wrote: “… This manuscript, documenting the genesis of the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Gloria, represents a stage in the development of the Missa Solemnis in which the opening section and tonal balance begin to resemble the final composition despite the metrical disparity (here in D major 3/4, while the completed work is 2/4). It is a remarkable piece, a true historical treasure that fully represents the genius of the German composer’s creative process.”
The Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123, was composed by Beethoven between 1819 and 1823 and dedicated to his friend and pupil, Cardinal and Archduke of Austria, Rudolf of Habsburg-Lorraine.
Written for orchestra, organ, choir, and soloists, it was first performed in Saint Petersburg on 7 April 1824 and is considered, even by the composer himself, his most important work.
The painter Joseph Karl Stieler portrayed Beethoven between 1819 and 1820, engaged in composing this very work.
According to a spokesperson for the auction house RR Auction, this page, which contains Beethoven’s studies for the Sanctus section of the Missa Solemnis with fragments of the Benedictus and Gloria, could fetch up to $200,000 at auction. (Prediction fully met and widely exceeded – Editor’s note)
