With its magnificent, almost operatic music, Christus am Ölberge (The Mount of Olives) is a Passion oratorio which is definitely worth hearing and experiencing – and in this form it is without doubt unique in the history of vocal-instrumental sacred music. In his Passion oratorio, Beethoven succeeded firstly in building on the 18th century tradition, and secondly in putting his own personal stamp on the nascent genre of German-language oratorio – the Vienna performances of Haydn’s Die Schöpfung (The Creation) and Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) had only taken place a few years earlier. In composing the work he looked towards contemporary opera, using a text by an opera librettist to depict in music the dramatic situation of the doubting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and his arrest in deeply-felt musical scenes.
The edition follows the first printed edition in music and text; differences in the text in the libretto originally set by Beethoven are given as a second text, and a singable English translation is underlaid.
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Digital text (without sheet music) incl. printing licence, html file, singing text, english translationhtml file, singing text, english translation (Sample)1a Introduzione
1b Recitativo Christus
My Father, O my Father, be Thou my comfort,
give me strength to bear!
Now is the hour approaching,
when I suffer.
I chose to meet this hour,
before the world, at Thy command,
in order newly stood.
I hearken to the voices of Thy seraphs;
they cry aloud,
who will, in place of man,
before Thy judgmentseat appear?
O Father! I appear at this their call.
A Saviour will I be,
atoning, I alone, for all mankind.
How could this feeble race,
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Digital text (without sheet music) incl. printing licence, html file, singing text, originalhtml file, singing text, original (Sample)
1a Introduzione
1b Recitativo Christus
Jehova, du, mein Vater!
O sende Trost und Kraft und Stärke mir!
Sie nahet nun, die Stunde meiner Leiden,
von mir erkoren schon,
noch eh die Welt auf dein Geheiß
dem Chaos sich entwand.
Ich höre deines Seraphs Donnerstimme.
Sie fordert auf,
wer statt der Menschen sich
vor dein Gericht jetzt stellen will.
O Vater!
Ich erschein auf diesen Ruf.
Vermittler will ich sein,
ich büße, ich allein,
der Menschen Schuld.
Wie könnte dies Geschlecht,
aus Staub gebildet,
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Digital text (without sheet music) incl. printing licence, html file, Introductory text, englishhtml file, Introductory text, english (Sample)Foreword of the edition Carus 23.020
Clemens Harasim
Translation: Gudrun and David KosvinerWith the formal structure of his only oratorio Christus am Ölberge (The Mount of Olives) Ludwig van Beethoven consciously continued the tradition of the Italian Passion oratorio of the 18th century. At the same time, it is unmistakable that Beethoven was striving to make his personal mark on the genre of the German-language oratorio, which was flourishing as a result of the successful Viennese performances of Joseph Haydn’s The Creation and The Seasons which had taken place shortly before. In addition, the work is oriented towards contemporary opera, a fact that is also reflected in the circumstances of its creation and in the libretto.
Creation of the First Version and LibrettoAt the beginning of 1803, Beethoven was appointed house composer of the Theater an der Wien, which had only been opened in June 1801 by Emanuel Schikaneder. He was even given official lodgings in the theater, where he lived together with his brother Karl. In addition to conducting the orchestra, this obligation also included the possibility of organizing concerts of his own. Since opera performances were traditionally not
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Digital text (without sheet music) incl. printing licence, html file, Introductory text, germanhtml file, Introductory text, german (Sample)Vorwort der Ausgabe Carus 23.020
Clemens Harasim
Mit der formalen Gliederung seines einzigen Oratoriums Christus am Ölberge knüpfte Ludwig van Beethoven bewusst an die Tradition des italienischen Passionsoratoriums des 18. Jahrhunderts an. Zugleich ist das Bestreben unüberhörbar, der durch die erfolgreichen, kurz zuvor stattgefundenen Wiener Aufführungen der Schöpfung und der Jahreszeiten von Joseph Haydn aufblühenden Gattung des deutschsprachigen Oratoriums einen persönlichen Stempel aufzudrücken. Außerdem orientiert sich das Werk an der zeitgenössischen Oper, was sich auch in den Umständen der Entstehung und im Libretto niederschlägt.
Entehung der Erstfassung und LibrettoAnfang des Jahres 1803 war Beethoven zum Hauskomponisten des erst im Juni 1801 durch Emanuel Schikaneder eröffneten Theaters an der Wien ernannt worden. Er bewohnte dort seitdem sogar eine Dienstwohnung zusammen mit seinem Bruder Karl. Neben der Leitung des Orchesters beinhaltete diese Verpflichtung auch die Möglichkeit, eigene Konzerte zu veranstalten. Da in der unmittelbar folgenden Fasten- und Passionszeit (tempora sacrata) traditionellerweise
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Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven
| 1770-1827Ludwig van Beethoven was without doubt one of the most influential composers in the history of music. His works formed the culmination of many genres – particularly instrumental – of Viennese classicism, and laid the foundation for the following decades. But Beethoven’s vocal works set standards too: the late Missa Solemnis is one of the most impressive choral works of its time; but his earlier Mass in C also opens up new worlds of expression for the liturgical text, and set the benchmark for the further development in the composition of the mass. And with the final chorus of the Ninth Symphony, the setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy, Beethoven created one of the most frequently-performed and best known choral pieces of all, writing a timeless musical memorial to himself. Personal details
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Songwriter / Librettist
Franz Xaver Huber
| 1755-1814
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Translator
John Troutbeck
| 1832-1899
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