According to German musicologist Walter Riezler, the beginning of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis (Kyrie, bars 3-6) contains an Urmotiv “of the greatest fertility.” Although several authors subsequently mention it, such as Hiemke, Lodes, Swafford or Spitzer, they do not fully address this idea in an extensive and systematic way. Owing to that, William Drabkin asserts that “Riezler's idea of the motívic unity has not been developed in any subsequent writings of the Mass.” In order to analyse the presence of this Urmotiv in the Missa solemnis, it can be seen not only melodically as the leaping fourth and stepwise descent in the first violins, but also harmonically as a full cadential progression (I)–VI– IV–V–I —as Joel Lester outlined briefly in his paper on Kyrie's autograph: “The harmonies of the final version constitute an Urmotiv for nearly all thematic content of the Kyrie, as well as many of the harmonic structures of the Kyrie, and the entire Mass.” Therefore, one of the ways to explore the possibilities of this Urmotiv is to consider this harmonic aspect, which is what this paper aims to emphasize through different analysed examples from the work. Three main cases are to be taken into account: first, the tonal plan of the Kyrie, which has revealed almost coincident with the harmony of the Urmotiv; second, the keys of the last movements, linked also to another important element in the work, the chain of descending thirds; third, some other similar cadencial progression of the work that relate to the Urmotiv, especially in the Homo factus est section from the Credo and in the Sanctus movement. All that brings us to some considerations regarding not only what can be called the unity of the work, in a deeper, structural sense —that is to say, moreover a mere catalogue of melodic appearances of the Urmotiv—; but also beyond, considering the important role of the subdominant and the submediant along the Missa solemnis.

Some main references

Drabkin, William. Beethoven: Missa Solemnis. Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Hiemke, Sven. Ludwig van Beethoven. Missa Solemnis. Baerenreiter Verlag, 2003.

Kinderman, William, ed. Artaria 195: Beethoven's Sketchbook for the Missa Solemnis and the Piano Sonata in E Major, Opus 109 (3 vol.). University of Illinois Press, 2003.

Lester, Joel. “Revisions in the Autograph of the Missa Solemnis Kyrie.” American Musicological Society 23, núm. 3 (1970): 420-438.

Riezler, Walter. Beethoven. Atlantis Verlag, 1977.