Christus am Ölberge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ludwig van Beethoven's Christus am Ölberge (in English, Christ on the Mount of Olives), Op. 85, was initially composed in Hetzendorf during a two-week period in 1801. With a libretto in German by the poet Franz Xaver Huber, it was first heard on April 5, 1803 and revised for another Lenten performance the following year.

It is a much more humanistic portrayal of the Christ passion than other settings, such as those by Bach. The work concludes at the point of Jesus personally accepting his fate in Gethsemane, placing the emphasis on his own decision rather than the later Crucifixion or Resurrection.

The structure of the work is interesting in that it is something of a dramatic oratorio rather than a religious choral mass or a dramatic opera. It is scored for SATB chorus, Soprano, Tenor, and Bass soli, and Orchestra. The tenor sings as Jesus with the soprano as an angel and the bass as Peter.

Beethoven was quite critical of the oratorio, thinking it too dramatic in nature and the orchestra and chorus too under-rehearsed in its premiere performance. He, too, panned Huber's libretto saying, "I would rather set Homer, Klopstock, Schiller to music. If they offer difficulties to overcome, these immortal poets are worthy of it." Huber agreed, saying, "I know that the text is extremely bad," and Beethoven waited almost ten years to publish the piece (explaining the relatively late Opus number). It is interesting to note that Beethoven eventually did set Schiller to music in his monumental Ninth Symphony, almost twenty years later.

However, it has remained one of Beethoven's most-loved and oft-performed oratorios, enjoying immediate public success following its premiere. The "Welten singen..." finale chorus has enjoyed some popularity on its own, usually being rendered as an "Hallelujah".