As the Sound Faded

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As the Sound Faded:

An Examination of Beethovens Choral Music

Submitted by:

John Wilkins

This aer is resented in artial fulfillment of the re!uirements for

"ntroduction to #raduate Studies in Music $M%S &''(

Missouri State %niversit)

* +ecem,er *'-.

John Wilkins -


2/11

As the Sound Faded:

An Examination of Beethovens Choral Music

"n the san of /& )ears0 1ud2i3 van Beethoven 2as attri,uted-2ith comosin3 over 4/'

ieces of music5*6f those comositions0 onl) ei3hteen 2ere 2ritten for chorus0 includin3 the

Christus am lberge3and the 7inth S)mhon)5 $For the interest of time0 this aer 2ill discuss

onl) choral music0 includin3 the aforementioned 2ork0 The 7inth S)mhon)5( There seems to ,e

a sti3ma attached to Beethoven that his choral 2ritin3 is su,8ar and often times too difficult to

erform5 The !uestion is: Wh) is the music so difficult9 "t is documented that at a )oun3 a3e

Beethoven ,e3an to lose his a,ilit) to hear5 The recise dates are unkno2n0 ,ut Beethoven does

3ive reference in theHeiligenstadt Testament02ritten in -'*0 to havin3 suffered 2ith constant

treatments for his illness for six )ears5;+oes the music 2ritten after -&


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necessar) to have a memorial cele,ration to exress the feelin3s felt in Bonn5 The societ)

exressed its 2ishes that:

Either ,efore or after the seech somethin3 musical 2ould ,e erformed:

a cantata 2ill make slendid effect: a local )oun3 oet has su,mitted a

text toda)0 2hich is certainl) 2orth) of a colla,oration of a master/

But the comoser that took on the ro@ect 2as not )et kno2n as a master0 it 2as a nineteen8)ear8

old student 2ho 2ould soon make his mark on the 2orld of art and music0 Beethoven5 The

Cantata on the +eath of Emeror Joseh "" 2as an am,itious 2ork 2ritten for orchestra0 four

soloists0 and a four8art chorus5 "t never sa2 a erformance in Beethovens lifetime ossi,l)

,ecause of the difficult) of the orchestral arts and little time to rehearse5 %nfortunatel) there is

not a historical documented reason the 2ork 2as never erformed5 "n comarison 2ith choral

comositions later in Beethovens life0 this 2ork roves to ,e less challen3in3 and !uite sin3a,le5

The ran3e for each voice art is not terri,l) difficult and the tessitura is neither too hi3h nor too

lo25 The 6xford Music 6nline +ictionar) defines tessitura as0 A term used to descri,e the art

of a vocal comass in 2hich a iece of music lies 2hether hi3h or lo20 etc5 The tessitura of a

iece is not decided ,) the extremes of its ran3e0 ,ut rather ,) 2hich art of the ran3e that is most

used5D4"ndeed0 the sorano art reaches an A flat a,ove the tre,le clef0 onl) a fe2 times in ,oth

the first and the last movement0 ,ut this is onl) sustained for a short duration0 makin3 it attaina,le

2ithout addin3 stress to its sin3ers5 6nl) three of the seven movements in the 2ork include the

chorus5 The middle movement is an aria 2ith chorus0 2herein the choir does not carr) a melod)

of its o2n0 ,ut siml) acts as a secondar) accomaniment 2ith the orchestra0 to suort the

sorano soloist5 The last movement is almost identical to the first movement0 in ,oth rh)thm and

5 For,es0 Elliot5Notes: Cantata On the Death of m!eror "ose!h ##5 7e2 ork0 75: #5Schirmer0 "nc0 -


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itches0 veerin3 onl) sli3htl) from the ori3inal0 makin3 its sin38a,ilit) all the more eas) for the

chorus5&"t stands to reason that Beethoven must not have ,e3un to exerience the effects of

deafness at this eriod in his life0 ,ecause althou3h the music is challen3in3 and am,itious0 it is

2ell 2ithin the arameters of choral comositions of this time5

As Beethoven ,e3an to lose his hearin30 2e enter a different hase of his choral 2ritin35

The Mass in C Ma@or 6us 4 2as commissioned ,) Grince 7ikolaus "" EsterhH?) in -'& to

cele,rate the name da) of his 2ife5 $These are the same EsterhH?)s that emlo)ed >a)dn5(

Beethoven conducted the mass for its remier on -. Setem,er -'&0 2here it 2as not 2ell

received5 Grince 7ikolaus 2rote0 Beethovens Mass is un,eara,l) ridiculous and vile5 " am not

convinced that it could in honest) ,e u,lished5 " am an3r) and ashamed a,out it5DThe

Cam,rid3e Comanion to Beethoven states that the iece 2as not 2ell rehearsed ,efore its

erformance and this ma) have contri,uted to its oor recetion5 The Mass 2as scored for four

soloists0 chorus0 and orchestra5 >o2ever0 this 2ork sho2s much more comlexit) than the

Cantata discussed reviousl)5 Gerhas the comlexities made this 2ork more difficult for listeners

to see the value of 2hat la) ,efore them0 such as the Grince5

This 2as the first Mass settin3 ,) Beethoven and even thou3h it 2as not 2ell received at

first0 the iece 2as ver) dear to him5 The I)rie ,e3ins 2ith a stand8alone acaella ,ass section

@oined !uickl) ,) the other three arts and the orchestra0 somethin3 that until no2 had not ,een

attemted to start such a 2ork5 The soloists enter soradicall) throu3hout this section makin3 the

continuit) of the lines some2hat cho)5 Throu3hout the 2ork0 there is a ver) difficult choral

sorano line5


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sorano is ushed to sin3 reeated hi3h and loud notes5 Beethoven 2as documented 2ith havin3

the medical ro,lem of tinnitus5-'Geole 2ith ac!uired deafness usuall) develo tinnitus0 2hich is

hearin3 ,u??in3 or rin3in3 in the ears0 not to ,e confused 2ith hearin3 music or voices0 ho2ever0

it is ,elieved that Beethoven actuall) had the a,ilit) to hear each instrument in his head as he 2as

comosin35-- Could he not hear 2hat he 2as su,mittin3 his sorano to0 or is it merel) that

Beethoven 2anted the sorano line to move u2ard to encoura3e intensit)9 6vercomin3 a

disease that could drive a non8musical erson insane to 2rite such a 2ork is ,oth insirin3 and

ama?in35 "t stands to reason that Beethoven must have found a 2a) to deal 2ith this ailment like

he did 2ith the other challen3es of his life0 2ith the faith he had in humanit) and his o2n

determination to comose the music he still had inside of him5

Beethovens 7inth S)mhon) in + ma@or stands as a monument for ne2 and

3round,reakin3 material that had never ,een seen ,efore5 Finished in -*;0 the S)mhon) is in

four movements5 Three of the movements are 2ritten for orchestra0 ,ut in the last movement

Beethoven does somethin3 that has never ,een done ,efore in a s)mhon)0 he adds a choir5 The

text for the fourth movement An die FreundeD 2as a oem ,) Friedrich Schiller0 a oet

Beethoven had ,een influenced ,) lon3 ,efore he 2rote the 7inth S)mhon)5 >e carried sketches

of 2hat 2as to ,ecome his 7inth S)mhon) )ears ,efore the Ghilharmonic Societ) of 1ondon

commissioned it in --&5 "n -&earin3 5$eetho%en5 ,eethoven52s0 n5d5 We,5 *' 7ov5 *'-..11 Hindley, Peter, and Nick Kitson.Mental Health and Deafness. London, England,

Philadelphia, PA: Whurr Publishers Ltd, 2000. 258-259. Print.

12 Kinderman, William.Beethoven . 2nd. New York, NY.: Oxford University Press, 2009.15. Print.

John Wilkins /


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6h Freunde0 nicht diese TKneL 6h friends not these tonesL

Sondern lasst uns an3enehmere 1et us raise our voices in more

anstimmen0 und FreundenvollereL Gleasin3 and more @o)ous soundsL-.

A solo ,aritone sin3s the added text ,) Beethoven0 as if to call the 2orld to action5 This solo

voice art is 2ritten to exlore ,oth the hi3her and lo2er ran3es of the ,aritone and does so

effectivel)5

Geter +avies The Character of a &enius0 descri,es the 6de to Jo)D as0 a solemn h)mn

on the exalted theme of @o) to #od for his love and ultimate freedom of the ,rotherhood of

humankind from sufferin35D-;>is 3oin3 deaf0 chan3ed his disosition drasticall)0 2here he 2as

once a rank8ullin3 )oun3 lad0 the fear and anxiet) of 3oin3 deaf drove him to contemlate

suicide5 7ot onl) did his 3ro2in3 deafness affect his music0 ,ut he also lost 3uardianshi of his

nehe2 Iarl in --


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sin3er0 rolon3ed loud sin3in3 2ill have a ne3ative effect on the voice5-&"n addition0 2hen sin3ers

are forced to sin3 in a demandin3 tessitura0 either hi3h or lo20 for lon3 eriods of time0 this ma)

cause vocal fati3ue or even in@ur)5-1istenin3 to the 7ikolaus EsterhH?) Sinfonia and Chorus0

3ives the listener a rime examle of the strain this uts on its sin3ers5-


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The an die 'reundehas hi3h tessitura for all arts0 ver3in3 on ushin3 ran3es5 The d)namic

markin3s of fortissimo ush sound deci,els to ne20 almost unheard of hei3hts5*-"t is a 2onder if

Beethoven understood the vocal demands of his 2ork0 or if he siml) could not hear the strain

that this 2as uttin3 on his sin3ers5 Because of its ne2 use of chorus0 s)mhonic comosers that

follo2ed 2ould have to face the 3iant that is the 7inth S)mhon) and live u to its 3randeur0

desite its toll on the voices of its chorus5**

After close examination of these 2orks0 2e can discern from Beethovens comositions

that as tensions in his life 3re20 so did the demand on the voices of his chorus mem,ers5 "n his

first comositional eriod0 2hen his hearin3 had not )et left him0 Beethoven 2rote easil) sin3a,le

melodic lines that a3reed 2ith ,oth ran3e and tessitura of the sin3ers and 2ithout ushin3 his

sin3ers to extremities of d)namic markin3s5 +urin3 the second comositional eriod0 2ith the

onset of his hearin3 loss0 2e see that Beethoven ,e3ins to 2rite sorano lines 2ith ran3e and

tessitura difficulties0 ,ut still 2ithin the mana3ea,le confines of health) sin3in35 "n his third eriod0

his deafness full) uon him0 2e see that Beethoven demands the most from his sin3ers5 >e 2rote

vocal lines at the extremes of ,oth ran3e and tessitura5 We see that his deafness mi3ht have ,een a

contri,utin3 factor to ,oth the set of itches and the d)namic markin3s5 With that said0 its not

that Beethoven could not 2rite choral music effectivel) or safel)0 ,ut he is merel) misunderstood

as a choral comoser5

21 Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125.1824. New York: DoverPublications, 1976. Print. Score.

22 Cooper, Barry ed. The Beethoven Compendium: A Guide to Beethoven's Life and Music.London, England: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1991. 216. Print.

John Wilkins


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Bi,lio3rah)

Beethoven: 1oss of >earin3 5$eetho%en5 ,eethoven52s0 n5d5 We,5 *' 7ov5 *'-.5

Nhtt:OO2225,eethoven52sOlossQofQhearin35htmlP5

Beethoven0 1ud2i3 van5 Cantata on the Death of m!eror "ose!h ## -./015 7e2 ork: #5

Schirmer0 "nc5 -


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Beethoven Timeline: Chronolo3) 1andmarks of the 1ife of Beethoven5D Lud(ig %an

$eetho%en;s $iogra!hy5 *'-.5 We,5 *' 7ov5 *'-.5

Nhtt:OO2225lv,eethoven5comOBioOBio3rah)Chronolo3)5htmlP5Beeth

Cooer0 Barr) ed5 The $eetho%en Com!endium: < &uide to $eetho%en=s Life and usic+

1ondon0 En3land: Thames and >udson 1td50 -


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Smith0 Brenda0 and Uo,ert T5 Sataloff5 Choral *edagogy5 Second Ed5 San +ie3o0 CA5: Glural

Gu,lishin30 inc50*''45 -*5 Grint5

Stanle)0 #lenn5 The Cambridge Com!anion to $eetho%en5 Cam,rid3e0 En3land: Cam,rid3e

%niversit) Gress0 *'''5 **.5 Grint5

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As the Sound Faded