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. Huemmel 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.

An