J. Haydn: Missa in tempore belli hob. XXII:9; L. v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, E-flat major, op. 55, "Eroica"

In music history, there is a strong connection between the genesis of Beethoven’s Eroica symphony and the composer’s early admiration of Napoleon. Indeed, Beethoven had initially intended to entitle the work “Bonaparte”, but he withdrew the dedication when Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor on 2 December 1804. Compositionally, however, the influence of French revolutionary music and Bachian polyphony was retained, and the first movement is particularly heroic in character. As such, we may assume that Beethoven, despite his inner conflict between cosmopolitan notions and Austrian patriotism, held fast to the revolutionary ideals of “liberty, equality, fraternity”. In a related vein, Joseph Haydn’s “Missa in tempore belli” (Mass in Time of War) is also connected to the warmongering of Napoleon’s times, and, as such, resonates with the current escalation in global geopolitical tensions. In this monumental work, the eruption of timpani drumming in the holy Agnus Dei setting is widely interpreted as representing the sabre-rattling of the French-Italian army, which in 1796, the year of the work’s composition, indeed invaded Austria’s Erblande territory.

Recording venue

Tonhalle St. Gallen, Switzerland