‘Christus am Ölberge’ voices suffering, prayer, and eventual peace
Lent is meant to be a season of penance and reflection. Depending on the circumstances in which we find ourselves, some years can be starkly more poignant, when we have the opportunity to unite our own suffering with those of Christ’s. Such was the case for Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a Catholic who leaned on his faith throughout his life. His oratorio “Christus am Ölberge,” Op. 85 (1803), depicting the Agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, was composed not long after he learned that his deafness would get worse and there was no cure. The famous composer must have contemplated the cross he was being asked to bear – uniting himself to Christ’s own emotional agony.
An oratorio is a genre with its roots in Baroque Italy that served as a substitution for opera, which was banned during Advent and Lent in Catholic regions. The subject of early oratorios often presented a story of sacrifice to complement the penitential seasons – for example, Giacomo Carissimi’s “Jephte,” where the title character sacrifices his daughter as told in the Book of Judges. The word “oratorio” comes from the prayer halls, or oratories, where such works were initially performed. By Beethoven’s time, oratorios kept the religious texts but had moved to the concert stage.
Beethoven was trained from an early age to be a professional musician, beginning piano lessons so young he had to stand on the bench to even reach the keys. By the time he moved to Vienna, he was becoming famous as a virtuoso pianist and improvisor.
He started losing his hearing in 1797 and within a few years, it was evident the condition was worsening. Trained in only one way to support himself, he feared that the loss of his hearing would be catastrophic. In 1802, he penned the heartbreaking “Heiligenstadt Testament,” a letter to his brothers to be read after his death that detailed the emotional anguish and isolation in which he found himself. The letter dates to the year prior to “Christus am Ölberge,” and thus, the connection between the suffering of Christ and his own make the work all the more powerful.
“Christus am Ölberge” was composed quickly in a few weeks. It is scored for orchestra, chorus and three soloists: Soprano (Seraph), Tenor (Christ), and Bass (Peter). Following an orchestral introduction, the opening recitative and aria depict Christ’s agony and emotional prayer in the garden. The English translation, by Timothy Adès in the 2020 recording by Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, reads:
“Jehovah! My Father! Send me strength and solace. The hour of my Passion draws near. I chose it, before the world was formed at your command. I hear your Seraph’s voice of thunder calling. Who will stand in Man’s place before your judgment? Here am I to intercede. I alone expiate the guilt of men.
How could this race, made from dust, endure a judgment that bears me, your Son, to the ground? See how my heart is wracked by sorrow and mortal dread. Father, I suffer! Have mercy on me!”
The aria begins in the key of C minor – a tonality frequently found in Beethoven’s dramatic works (such as the famous Fifth Symphony). The orchestral notes move quickly to paint the trembling soul of our Lord. Christ’s anxiety is described in text as well as in music through the fast, nervous melodies and simmering orchestral passages below.
The section peaks in volume and tension describing the blood He is sweating (“Blut”). The subsequent passage substitutes the anxious mood with a plea by Christ asking His Father to “take this cup of suffering (‘Leidenskelch’) from me.” Both sections of text are repeated, but in the final utterance of “Leidenskelch,” Beethoven composes an ornate melisma to highlight the cup of suffering – one he knew all too well.
Although the text was arranged by Franz Xaver Huber, Beethoven could scarcely have missed the parallels between his own intense suffering and eventual peace with that of his Savior’s.
What is particularly fascinating about this aria is that the listener is experiencing not only the human side of Christ with the anxiety and desperation that accompanies the trials of mortal life, but simultaneously Beethoven’s. Anyone who has suffered prolonged physical, mental or spiritual agony will be able to relate to this theme in “Christus am Ölberge.”
Deacon Dr. David Ramsey, who serves at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Franklin and also works as a physician, comments on Beethoven’s loss of hearing:
“Reflecting on my own hearing loss, I can fully empathize with the impact on this great composer of the critical loss of his sense of hearing. With my new hearing aids, I can appreciate again hearing birds chirp and the sound of gravel under my feet. Over the years I have had the privilege of treating and sharing in the sufferings of many ailments with my patients, and been there with those who have died. Lent highlights our mortality as ashes are placed on our heads and the priest or deacon refrains, ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ Jesus broke this barrier of death by His Passion, death and Resurrection for us. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the great prayer of the Church, we experience Jesus uniting Himself with us in our humanity, as we unite with Him in His divinity. While suffering through the rapid loss of his hearing, Beethoven wrote one of his greatest works, ‘Missa Solemnis,’ to the glory of the Mass. At the ‘Sanctus’ a solo violin plays at its highest range, representing the Holy Spirit. Despite reports of Beethoven’s wavering from the faith, he received the last rites, the anointing of the sick, and a Catholic funeral Mass. It is through our steadfast devotions as Catholic Christians that we are offered the assured hope through Christ of eternal life.”
— Christina L. Reitz, Ph.D., Special to the Catholic News Herald. Christina L. Reitz, Ph.D., is professor of music at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
Listen online
Listen to the first aria of Beethoven’s “Christus am Ölberge” (“Christ on the Mount of Olives”)
New books by Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of over 1 billion Catholics and a worldwide leader, provide guidance and encouragement for readers.
“Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future” by Pope Francis and Austen Ivereigh offers hope to readers coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises of our time. The authors suggest how to view crises, discern how to deal with them and then take action.
In their prologue, Pope Francis and Ivereigh identify some contemporary crises. They assure readers, however, that God’s mercy will always help them cope. They state that “times of trial” are opportunities for “purification.” They say that these can help people mature and change their priorities.
Early in the book, they urge people facing a crisis in what they call a culture of “individualism and self-obsession” to “commit to the small, concrete, positive actions.” They assert this is better than responding selfishly or despairing.
They cite recent events signaling a societal call for change. These include the #MeToo movement, the protests over racial injustice after the death of George Floyd while in police custody and the anti-racist protests resulting in the removal of statues. The pope also shares three of his own personal crises.
In the second part, the authors encourage readers to discern the best actions to take in a challenging time. This requires openness, prayer and reflection, and valuing “fraternity over individualism.”
Finally, they suggest how to act on one’s beliefs. This involves respecting universal human rights and values.
The authors’ epilogue contains their advice to readers to let themselves be transformed by the current crises and be of service. They also include an inspiring poem. Ivereigh in a postscript describes how and why the book was written. “Let Us Dream” offers profound, practical and timely advice about surviving turbulent times.
In “Our Mother Earth: A Christian Reading of the Challenge of the Environment,” Pope Francis calls everyone to honor God’s gift of nature. He says that this can reduce pollution, climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the exploitation of resources.
The book includes a preface by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, two opening essays on the pope’s theology of ecology, ideas from 12 of his past encyclicals, audiences and homilies on the subject and a final new essay.
In his first two essays, Pope Francis calls for “global cooperation” to protect nature. He says new policies, programs and habits can help do this.
In his collection of past works, the pope reminds readers that “the future of all nations is interconnected.” He also says the earth’s resources are gifts and not simply to be used for greed, consumption and profit. He calls Christians to an “ecological conversion,” quoting his 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”
In his final essay, the pope suggests what can give readers hope for a better future – technology, a commitment to conversion, the liturgy and “a universal brotherhood.”
“Letters of Tribulation” by Pope Francis, with Jesuit Fathers Antonio Spadaro and Diego Fares, is a new version of the pope’s 1987 book of the same title.
In the original book, the pope – then a Jesuit priest in Argentina – shared a spiritual approach to dealing with difficulties, based on letters that 18th-century Jesuit superiors general had sent to their bishops coping with persecution. This had led to the Vatican’s suppression of their order in several countries from 1758 to 1831.
The pope’s expanded 2020 book includes a modern tribulation – the sexual abuse of minors and the abuse of power by priests and others in Church leadership roles.
In it, he includes letters that he sent to the bishops and the Church and the people of God in Chile in 2018. He had been prompted to write these after reading a Vatican report of 2018 on the problems of clerical sexual abuse there. These showed his desire to restore public trust in the Church and
Church leaders’ integrity with themselves and to heal abuse victims.
The book reveals the spiritual discernment needed by those facing persecution from “cultural and historic events.” The pope says this can help people avoid temptations to “argue over ideas, to not give to the matter the importance that it should be given, to concentrate too much on the persecutors and to keep going over the desolation of one’s mind.” Instead, he says to “move toward virtue and spiritual perfection” and suggests ways to do so.
Books featuring Pope Francis
n “Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future” by Pope Francis and Austen Ivereigh. Simon and Schuster (New York, 2020). 160 pp., $26.
n “Our Mother Earth: A Christian Reading of the Challenge of the Environment” by Pope Francis. Our Sunday Visitor (Huntington, Ind., 2020). 103 pp., $16.95.
n “Letters of Tribulation” by Pope Francis, with Father Antonio Spadaro, SJ, and Father Diego Fares, SJ. Orbis Books (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2020). 144 pp., $20.
— Jan Kilby, Catholic News Service