There is a letter from Count Dietrichstein, court chamberlain, on the
subject of a mass which Beethoven was invited to write for the Emperor,
which is unintentionally humorous. In it, all sorts of suggestions are
made as to the style of the music, the length of the mass (it being
enjoined on him that the Emperor did not like long church services) and
other like stipulations. Beethoven's remarks in answer to this letter
are not recorded, but the mass was not written. Here was a case where
kingly prerogative did not avail.
Simultaneously with the appearance in the sketch-books of motives for
the Ninth Symphony, another is projected, as was the case when composing
his previous ones, which generally appeared in pairs, as already noted.
A wealth of ideas flowed in on him while engaged on any great work, much
of which, when not available for the one, could be utilized on the
other. While working on the Mass in D, he had in mind composing another
mass, as is evidenced by the following memorandum in the sketches of the
Agnus Dei: "Das Kyrie in der neuen Messe bloss mit blasenden
Instrumenten und Orgel.
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