Rundfunkchor Berlin - Beethoven: Christus am Ölberge (Remastered) (1970/2021) Hi-Res

According to his own statements, Beethoven composed Christ on the Mount of Olives in March 1803 within just 14 days. The oratorio was premiered together with the third piano concerto op. 37 and the 1st and 2nd symphonies op. 21 and 36 in the Academy on April 5, 1803 in the Theater an der Wien.

The work was restrained by contemporary critics, but received more friendly by the public. The failure of the composition lies not only, but to a large extent, in the weaknesses of its libretto. Franz Xaver Huber's text is extremely simple and in many places crosses the line of the ridiculous. The treatment of the material also leaves a lot to be desired in terms of drama.

For a new performance on March 27, 1804, Beethoven reworked his composition so fundamentally that the version from 1803 is difficult to reconstruct today. The text was retouched even more intensively. Probably at the instigation of the Breitkopf & Härtel publishing house in Leipzig, which published the original edition in 1811, the libretto was linguistically smoothed and stylistically more adapted to the contemporary taste of the viewer, the edifying. The work became different, also more pleasing " it was not good. Beethoven was well aware of this and in later years rejected fabrics if he was not convinced of their quality " also in terms of the text. "... that I will now write an oratorio in a completely different way than I did back then that is certain," he wrote in August 1811 to the Breitkopf & Härtel publishing house. He did not implement the assertion and composed no further oratorio, although both inquiries and plans were submitted again and again.

The action of the oratorio begins in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus' arrest is imminent and he asks his father for consolation, but at the same time welcomes his imminent death on the cross "for the salvation of mankind". When the warriors appear to arrest Jesus, he begs his father to let the hours of suffering pass quickly. Meanwhile, the disciples plead for mercy. Peter tries to save Jesus, but is prevented from doing so. When Jesus is seized by the warriors, a choir of angels concludes the work.

Beethoven's music shows strong operatic traits, one could consider it as a preliminary study for the work on Leonore that was begun at the same time. It is traditionally divided into a sequence of recitatives, arias and choirs after an orchestral “Introduzione”. The contrasts are presented very effectively, the music transports the listener into contrasting sensations of fear, horror, anger and jubilation. In contrast to earlier tradition, the Christ part is entrusted to a tenor, other characters in the plot are the soprano Seraph (a six"winged angel) and Peter as bass. The choir is divided into the mixed choir of angels, the choir of warriors (TBB) and the choir of disciples (TT). Since warriors and disciples also appear together, a strong male cast is necessary.

József Reti, tenor
Sylvia Geszty, soprano
Hermann Christian Polster, bass
Soloist Association and Great Choir of the Berliner Rundfunk
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Helmut Koch, conductor