Der glorreiche Augenblick was written for the opening of the
Congress of Vienna after the end of the
Napoleonic Wars.[1] Beethoven had initially supported
Napoleon, famously dedicating his
Eroica Symphony to him, but rejected him after Napoleon declared himself Emperor and scratched the dedication off the title page so violently that he tore the page. The cantata is scored for two
sopranos,
tenor and
bass soloists, chorus and orchestra. It sets texts by
Alois Weissenbach [
de]. The Cantata was written in 1814, but not published until 1837, hence the high opus number.[2]
The soloists are personas: the soprano is the city of
Vienna, the mezzo-soprano is the Prophetess, the tenor is the Genius and the bass is the Leader of the People.