"Christus am Ölberge", Oratorium für drei Solostimmen, Chor und Orchester op. 85

Listening samples

	Introduktion. Grave - Adagio (365 kB)
	Rezitativ: "Jehova, du mein Vater!" (Jesus) (365 kB)
	Arie: "Meine Seele ist erschüttert" (Jesus) (365 kB)
	Rezitativ: "Erzittre, Erde, Jehova's Sohn liegt hier!" (Seraph) (365 kB)
	Arie: "Preist des Erlösers Güte" (Seraph) (365 kB)
	Rezitativ: "Verkündet, Seraph, mir dein Mund Erbarmen" (Jesus, Seraph) (335 kB)
	Duett: "So ruhe denn mit ganzer Schwere" (Jesus, Seraph) (365 kB)
	Rezitativ: "Willkommen, Tod" (Jesus) (251 kB)
	Chor der Krieger: "Wir haben ihn gesehen" (365 kB)
	Rezitativ: "Die mich zu fangen ausgezogen sind" (Jesus) (365 kB)
	Chor der Krieger: "Hier ist er, der Verbannte" Chor der Jünger: "Was soll der Lärm bedeuten?" (365 kB)
	Rezitativ: "Nicht ungestraft soll der Verweg'nen Schar" (Petrus, Jesus) (344 kB)
	Terzett: "In meinen Adern wühlen gerechter Zorn und Wut" (Petrus, Jesus, Seraph) (365 kB)
	Chor der Krieger: "Auf, auf! Ergreift den Verräter" Chor der Jünger: "Ach! wir werden seinetwegen auch gehasst, verfolgt sein" "Meine Qual ist bald verschwunden" (Jesus) (365 kB)
	Chor der Engel: "Welten singen dank und Ehre" (365 kB)

Composition
März 1803

Throughout his life, Beethoven was always looking for good librettos to compose dramatic works and operas on. As early as the 1790s did he dream about writing a great opera. Still, he started the project with caution and thorough preparation. First he took lessons in dramatic composition with one of the grand masters: From 1802 onwards, he studied with Antonio Salieri. Additionally, he tried a related genre, the oratorio, which also uses dramatic effects and deals with texts. Beethoven's only oratorio "Christ on the olive mountain" op. 85 is based on a subject quite frequently set to music in the Alpine region, the introduction to the passion: Scared Jesus who after the final supper with his disciples withdraws to the gardens of Gethsemane for prayer but is then betrayed by them and captured. Beethoven said he composed his oratorio in March 1803 in just two weeks. The oratorio was performed for the first time at the "Theatre an der Wien" on April 5th, 1803, together with the third piano concert op. 37 and the First and Second Symphony op. 21 and op. 36. The anonymous reviewer of Vienna's general musical newspaper from May 25th, 1803, was quite angry about the performance: "In addition, Mr. Beethoven performed a cantata from his composition "Christ on the olive mountain". On the following day, nobody understood why for such music seats in the first row cost the double, reserved seats the triple of the usual price and why every box seat cost 12 ducats instead of 4 florins. Of course, one must not forget that this was Mr. Beethoven's first try in that direction. I hope that for his second try he will offer a more characterised composition and a better plan when charging the same price."
The composition's failure is not only but mainly due to the weaknesses of the libretto it is based on. The text by Franz Xaver Hubert is quite simple, if not ridiculous, and the dramatic elements are very poor.

In order to perform the piece again on March 27th, 1804, Beethoven adapted the oratorio in such a way that its original version from 1803 can hardly be reconstructed today. The text was changed even more. Probably at the suggestion of publishing house Breitkopf & Härtel, which published the original edition in 1811, the libretto was linguistically and stylistically adapted to meet the contemporary taste and expectations. The result was a different and more pleasant but not necessarily better piece. Beethoven was well aware of this. In future years he rejected themes when he was not fully convinced by their quality and text. In August 1811 he wrote Breitkopf & Härtel: "It is quite certain that I now write an oratorio much more differently than back then." However, the composer never wrote another oratorio even though he was now and then asked to and planned it. (J.R.)

Music manuscripts
	Skizzen, HCB Mh 69
	Skizzen, HCB Mh 70
	Skizzen, HCB Mh 71

First editions
	Originalausgabe, op. 85, Klavierauszug, Breitkopf & Härtel, 1496, mit handschriftlichen Eintragungen Beethovens
	Originalausgabe, op. 85, Klavierauszug, Breitkopf und Härtel, 1496; Teilscan
	Originalausgabe, op. 85, Partitur, Breitkopf und Härtel, 1616
	Erstausgabe, op. 85, Chorstimmen, Simrock, 2296
	Titelauflage, op. 85, Partitur, Breitkopf und Härtel, 1616
	Titelauflage, op. 85, Partitur, Breitkopf und Härtel, 1616; Teilscan
	Titelauflage, op. 85, Partitur, Breitkopf und Härtel, 1616; Teilscan
	Titelauflage, op. 85, Chorstimmen, Simrock, 2296; Teilscan

Scores

Written documents
	Billet an Ferdinand Ries, Wien, möglicherweise Ende März oder Anfang April 1803
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 14. Oktober 1803
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 23. Oktober 1803
	Briefe Ludwig van Beethoven und Kaspar Karl van Beethoven an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 23. November 1803
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, zwischen dem 15. und 27. September 1803
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 26. August 1804
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 10. Oktober 1804
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 16. Januar 1805
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 1. Februar 1805
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 18. April 1805
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, Mai 1805
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 5. Juli 1806
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Grätz, 3. September 1806
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 5. April 1809
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 26. Juli 1809
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 22. November 1809
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, Anfang Dezember 1809
	Eigentumsbestätigung für Breitkopf & Härtel, Wien, Januar 1810
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 4. Februar 1810
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 15. Oktober 1810
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 19. Februar 1811
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Teplitz, 23. August 1811
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 9. Oktober 1811
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Wien, 28. Januar 1812
	Brief an Joseph von Varena in Graz, Wien, 8. Mai 1812
	Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Teplitz, 17. Juli 1812
	Brief an Joseph von Varena in Graz, Wien, 8. April 1813
	Anschlagzettel für ein Konzert unter der Leitung von George Smart in London am 29. Mai 1819
	Brief an Ferdinand Ries in Bonn, Wien, 11. Februar 1825

Literatur

	Berlin: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv
	Großbritannien, London: The British Library
	Italien, Modena: Biblioteca Estense Universitaria
	Polen, Kraków: Biblioteka Jagiellonska
	Russland, Moskau: Gosudarstvennyj central'nyi muzej muzykal' noj kul'tury im. M. I. Glinki

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E-Mail: bibliothek@beethoven-haus-bonn.de