Suspended Time: The Fugue on “et vitam venturi saeculi” in the Credo of the<i>Missa solemnis</i>

Abstract

Even though Beethoven considered his Missa solemnis to be his greatest work, analysts, historians, and philosophers of music have found it difficult to reconcile the composer's use of historical styles and genres—including stile ecclesiastico, plainchant, and falsobordone, in addition to fugue—with the work's position as a late work. In the Credo in particular, Beethoven composes according to the text, using different music and textures for passages describing the tenets of Christian faith than he does for the narrative parts of the text. Studying the materials and the working out of the fugue set to the words “Et vitam venturi saeculi, Amen” shows that this Credo contrasts different levels of compositionally formed time as an expression of timelessness and eternity—essentials of Christian faith.