By the time of Emperor Joseph II’s death in 1790 Beethoven was a member of the court musical establishment in Bonn. To mark the occasion, Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas, one to mourn Joseph’s death and the other to celebrate the accession to the throne of Emperor Leopold II. Although Beethoven was only 19 years old at the time, both works show the embryonic marks of his greatness: intense expression and control of structure in one, and an almost operatic panache in the other. Neither piece was performed during Beethoven’s lifetime.
Beethoven, Ludwig van
Averdonk, Severin Anton - Lyricist
Kantate auf den Tod Kaiser Josephs II (Cantata on the death of the Emperor Joseph II), WoO 87, "Trauerkantate"
1 Chorus: Tot, stöhnt es durch die öde Nacht! 08:30
2 Recitative: Ein Ungeheuer, sein Name Fanatismus (Bass) 01:24
3 Aria: Da kam Joseph, mit Gottes Stärke (Bass) 05:57
4 Aria with Chorus: Da stiegen die Menschen an's Licht (Soprano, Chorus) 05:57
5 Recitative: Er schläft, von den Sorgen seiner Welten entladen (Soprano) 03:31
6 Aria: Hier schlummert seinen stillen Frieden (Soprano) 09:31
7 Chorus: Tot, stöhnt es durch die öde Nacht! 09:31
Kantate auf die Erhebung Leopold II. zur Kaiserwürde (Cantata on the accession of Emperor Leopold II), WoO 88
8 Recitative with Chorus: Er schlummert … schlummert! (Soprano, Chorus) 04:36
9 Aria: Fliesse, Wonnezähre, fliesse! (Soprano) 11:29
10 Recitative: Ihr staunt, Völker der Erde! (Bass) 00:47
11 Recitative: Wie bebt mein Herz vor Wonne! (Tenor) 01:03
12 Terzetto: Ihr, die Joseph ihren Vater nannten (Soprano, Tenor, Bass) 04:44
13 Chorus: Heil! Stürzet nieder, Millionen 05:31
