Beethoven Mass in C Major, op. 86: II. Gloria - Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland

Performed by Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland
March 3, 2024 at Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
Performed with:
Sunnyside Symphony Orchestra
Anna Louise Martin, soprano
Sarah Maines, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Muir, tenor
Konstantin Kvach, bass
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) composed his Mass in C Major as a commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. Since the mid-1790s, the prince had celebrated the name day of his wife every year with a new mass, initially composed by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the court’s longtime kapellmeister (music director). By 1803, Haydn’s health forced him to stop composing, so he suggested others to continue the tradition, including Beethoven, one of his former students. Despite Beethoven’s anxiety about composing something that could match Haydn’s high standard, the Mass in C had its private premiere at the prince’s estate outside Vienna, on September 13, 1807.