VICTORY FROM DEFEAT
To those whom heaven favors, the greatest evils turn to greatest
good.
--GIORDANO BRUNO.
Of the summer of 1807, the most notable achievement is the Mass in C. It
was written at Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the Heroic Symphony some
years before. He remained until autumn hard at work on this, his first
mass, as well as on some orchestral works, including, probably the
Symphony in C minor, as well as the Pastoral Symphony.
It is rather singular that Beethoven, whose nature was on the whole
essentially religious, although he affiliated with no church, did not
take earlier to mass composition. Some of the best work of Mozart and
Haydn is in this form; as organist he must have been familiar with their
masses. One can readily believe that the emotional quality of certain
portions of Mozart's Mass in B flat, such as the Et incarnatus and the
Agnus Dei, must have strongly appealed to him. His thoughts often went
toward religious music, and it was easy for him to compose in this
style. He recognized the mass as one of the great art-forms, equal to
the oratorio or the opera. From Bach's time on, it may indeed be said to
have been regarded in this light. It is quite evident that Bach so
considered it when composing his grand mass in B minor, which in
difficulty of execution, as well as in its extraordinary length, is no
longer practicable as a church service, its range in all directions
going beyond the requirements of a congregation, or the capacity of the
choir.
It is evident that Beethoven enjoyed working on the Mass, and was quite
at home in this form of composition. Here was plain sailing; he knew
what he wanted to do, and went at it without hesitation. There is none
of that doubt and groping which is the case with Fidelio, which was
continually being worked over, and in reality, never was finished. That
religious works had a great hold on his mind, appears from a letter to
his publisher in after years in which he states that if he had an
independent income he would write nothing but grand symphonies, church
music and perhaps quartets. In another letter dated March 29, 1823,
toward the close of his life, he stated his intention of writing three
more masses.
In the Mass in C a new theory is developed in mass composition. It
differs radically from the style of church composition made popular by
Haydn and Mozart, beautiful as some of that is. Their music is a concord
of sweet melodies, illustrating the peace and happiness which a
contemplation of the religious life affords. Acting on the principle
that beauty is its own excuse for being, they give many examples where
the music does not even attempt to fit the sentiment of the words. The
Kyrie of Haydn's Imperial Mass would do for a Te Deum, or a Song of
Triumph rather than a cry for help. The Kyrie of Mozart's Mass in B flat
is an Italian street song which he heard on one of his tours in Italy
and worked over for this Mass, and is not at all adapted to the words.
There are ideas in the Mass in C which neither Mozart nor Haydn would
have tried to attain. Beethoven's aim here is not to please the ear by
beautiful melodies, although he does that often enough, but to stir the
soul. He bears a message to the listener, which it is greatly to his
interest to get at. The Mass in C depicts our innermost experiences. It
has a mission and is not simply an end in itself. The Symphonist here
shows his individuality as may be expected, since it was composed after
Coriolanus, the first four symphonies, Fidelio. In many places the
orchestra becomes an independent entity, abandons the choral part, and,
rising into majestic strains unattainable in choral composition, tells
the story of Christianity in its own powerful way. In Beethoven this
ascendency of the orchestra is first apparent; he has demonstrated for
all time its greater importance as a means of musical expression than
the voice.
[Musical notation.]
The work throughout is cast on a higher plane than any mass which had
appeared since Bach's Mass in B minor. It was written for Prince
Nicholas Esterhazy, whose grandfather was Haydn's patron, and was first
sung in the chapel of the Prince at Eisenstadt, on the name-day of his
wife, the Princess Marie. Hümmel was Kapellmeister there, but Beethoven
conducted the performance on this occasion.
The Prince evidently was of the opinion that having ordered the work,
the master would consider his preferences and prejudices in the
composition of it, as Haydn would have done, but as Beethoven could not
have done, had he wished. The result was that Prince Esterhazy failed to
see its purport or significance and was unable to comprehend it.
Beethoven should not have been surprised at this, since he knew himself
to be in advance of his time. At the conclusion of the service the
Prince made the rather inane remark, "but my dear Beethoven, what have
you been doing now?" in allusion to the mass. Beethoven, deeply
offended, left abruptly, and returned to Vienna. It may be said in
passing that Beethoven frequently managed to disappoint the persons for
whom he wrote. This did not lead him to doubt or distrust his powers,
knowing intuitively that posterity would justify him. The Mass in C is
to-day one of the best known of all masses, and is frequently performed
at high festivals in churches having a good equipment of chorus and
orchestra.
Another great work which was completed about this time was the Symphony
in C minor (The Fifth). Here we have a work wholly subjective. It
reflects his soul experiences. His approaching deafness brought him face
to face with the greatest trouble of his life. The malady progressed
slowly but steadily, and rendered him at times hopeless. His suffering,
his despair, his resignation and final triumph are embodied in it. It is
a subtle analysis of some of the deep problems of life. The history of
his own mental state is depicted here. If we consider his malady in its
bearing on his life, we have the story of Tantalus told again. Here was
a man whose thoughts translated themselves into splendid tone-pictures
which the orchestra was to portray. With the mental equipment to create
a new era in his art, the medium by which he could apprehend his works
was being closed to him. "Is a blind painter to be imagined?" asks
Wagner in this connection. If we can imagine a great painter painting
his masterpieces, but never being permitted to see any, an analogy may
be found in the exclusion of Beethoven from all participation in the
rendering of his works, which was the case in his later years, being
unable even to conduct them. He wanted to test his work, to ascertain
how it would sound in the concert hall, and even at this time the high
tones of the violins, which he put to such exquisite uses in later
years, and which were such an inspiration to Wagner, were lost to him.
By the aid of his philosophy, however, he accepted the situation,
resolving to make the best of it; to keep on achieving, to turn his
defeats into victories. Beethoven's symphonies mean much in their
application to the common life of humanity. Knowing them even
approximately, we often find texts which illumine them in the writings
of men who went below the surface of things, Emerson, or Carlyle, or
Schopenhauer. Thus Carlyle, writing on Dante says: "He has opened the
deep unfathomable oasis of woe that lay in the soul of man; he has
opened the living fountains of hope, also of penitence." Does not the
mind instantly revert to the C minor Symphony?
Next in the order of Beethoven's great works comes the Pastoral
Symphony, named at first "Recollections of country life." Easily
comprehended, as any picture of country life should be, he yet deemed it
necessary to give a short explanation at each movement, illustrating the
meaning which he wished to convey, although he qualifies this with the
words, "mehr Ausdruck der Empfindung als Malerei." [An expression of
sensibility rather than painting.] In everything relating to his art
Beethoven was tentative. In the sketch-book of this Symphony there is an
inscription in his handwriting, "Man überlässt den Zuhörer sich selbst
die Situationen auszufinden." [The hearer should be left to find out the
situations for himself,] showing that, on considering the matter
carefully he changed his mind, and concluded after all, that the
explanations were permissible. In but few instances has Beethoven
vouchsafed any explanation of his musical intent, and then it seems to
have been done reluctantly. It was hardly necessary in the case of the
Pastoral Symphony as it is comparatively easy of comprehension. The
title gives the clew; the occasional bird notes of quail, cuckoo and
lark, the scene at the brook, could hardly be mistaken; while the
dance-music in Part III, as well as the storm with its forebodings of
terror, convey their meaning plainly to the average intelligence. This
poem of nature is always enjoyable, refreshing the mind, and resting the
jaded faculties, much as a trip to the country helps us physically.
The explanations as Beethoven appended them are as follows:
No. I. Allegro: The awakening of cheerful feelings on arriving in the
country.
No. II. Andante: Scene at the Brook.
No. III. Allegro: Merry meeting of country folk.
No. IV. Allegro: Thunder-storm.
No. V. Allegretto: Song of the Shepherds, and glad and thankful feelings
after the storm.
Many great composers before and after Beethoven have essayed this
portrayal of a storm, Händel, Haydn (Seasons), Glück, Mozart, Rossini
(William Tell overture), Chopin, Wagner (Flying Dutchman), are a few
instances.
The Pastoral Symphony has been dramatized so to speak, that is, it has
been put on the stage, the different situations of this nature-poem
having been portrayed by living and moving tableaux, pantomimic action
and ballet; there was scenery, and the dance of the peasants and the
thunder-storm were, no doubt, realistic enough. This representation took
place at a festival of the _Künstler Liedertafel_ of Düsseldorf in 1863,
also in London.