The Catholic Beethoven

by Nicholas Chong

Overview

The Catholic Beethoven offers a new view of Beethoven and his religious music by demonstrating that both the composer and his sacred works were influenced by the German Catholicism of his era to a greater extent than has been thought. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, most accounts of Beethoven's religious attitudes have assumed that, as a child of the Enlightenment, the composer was estranged from the Catholicism into which he was born, adhering instead to an idiosyncratic and unorthodox religious outlook that was suspicious of dogma and tradition. This assumption has often resulted in the critical marginalization of Beethoven's religious music, with the notable exception of the Missa solemnis, which is usually included among his most important compositions only by being reinterpreted as a humanist or universalist work transcending its superficial identity as a setting of the Catholic Mass. This book argues that such views have relied on an inadequately complex view of the Enlightenment, which presumes incorrectly that the Enlightenment was monolithically opposed to traditional religious belief.

Beethoven's religious outlook was primarily shaped by ideas associated with the German Catholic Enlightenment, a particular strand of the Enlightenment that sought to reconcile traditional Catholic beliefs with elements from more familiar, secular versions of the Enlightenment. The book uses the central concerns of this Catholic Enlightenment as a framework for interpreting Beethoven's sacred works-not just the Missa solemnis, but also the Mass in C, Christus am Ölberge, and the Gellert Lieder-as well as documentary evidence usually cited in relation to the composer's religious outlook. In addition, it will situate the content of a number of religious books in his library within the religious-historical context of his time. Particular attention is devoted to Beethoven's interest in the writings of Johann Michael Sailer (1751-1832), one of the most important figures in German Catholicism during Beethoven's time, with whom the composer also had a personal connection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197752920
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/23/2025
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.49(w) x 9.55(h) x 1.08(d)

About the Author

Nicholas Chong is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Previously, he served as TOMS Core Faculty Fellow and Lecturer in the Core Curriculum at Columbia University. He holds academic degrees from Columbia University and Yale University, as well as a degree in orchestral conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Music Examples
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Note to the Reader

Introduction
1. German Catholicism in Beethoven's Time: Catholic Enlightenment and Restoration
2. Beethoven and the Catholic Enlightenment in Bonn
3. Beethoven's Religious Works before the Missa solemnis: The Gellert Lieder, Christus am Ölberge, and the Mass in C
4. Religion in Beethoven's Library: Christoph Christian Sturm and Ignaz Aurelius Feßler
5. Beethoven and Johann Michael Sailer
6. The Missa solemnis
Conclusion

Works Cited
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This book is a game changer. At first, the idea of contextualizing Beethoven in his religious milieu might seem like a tangential if interesting footnote in the crowded literature on the composer but, in Nicholas Chong's hands, it is a thread that unravels tacitly accepted and long-cherished approaches in Beethoven scholarship. Meticulously researched, Chong's clearheaded re-evaluation will challenge the way we think about Beethoven, if not the tradition of Western music built upon his name." — Daniel K. L. Chua, Professor of Music, The University of Hong Kong

"This book is a game changer. At first, the idea of contextualizing Beethoven in his religious milieu might seem like a tangential if interesting footnote in the crowded literature on the composer but, in Nicholas Chong's hands, it is a thread that unravels tacitly accepted and long-cherished approaches in Beethoven scholarship. Meticulously researched, Chong's clearheaded re-evaluation will challenge the way we think about Beethoven, if not the tradition of Western music built upon his name." — Daniel K. L. Chua, Professor of Music, The University of Hong Kong

"This insightful book by Chong (Rutgers Univ.) of 312 pages, six chapters, and an extensive bibliography is original and well researched. Chong offers a valuable analysis of the Missa Solemnis, especially regarding key structure." — M. N. H. Cheng, Choice

From the Publisher