" It was while he was at work on
this portion of the Mass, notably the great fugue, et vitam venturi (the
life everlasting), that Schindler called on him one afternoon, but could
not gain admission. He knew the master was at home as he could hear him
stamping and shouting, singing the different parts as if mad. Finally
the door was opened and Beethoven appeared. He was faint from hunger and
overwork, having eaten nothing since the previous noon. His servants
had, indeed, prepared some food for him the previous day, but he was too
much interested in his work to think of it, and they were afraid to
urge it on him, or indeed, go near him, while in the stress of
composition. He had worked the previous night until overtaken by
exhaustion and on awaking in the morning had at once resumed his work,
continuing it until interrupted by Schindler's arrival.
A work so transcendental in character as is this, calls for close and
sympathetic study even to get an approximate understanding of its
marvels. It is a characteristic of works of this nature, that although
not easily comprehended, they are likewise not readily exhausted.
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