Author of the Libretto: Severin Anton Averdonk (1766-1871), was the brother of the Bonn Hofsängerin (court singer) Johanna Helene Averdonk. Originally named Anton Clemens Averdonk, he was educated in theology and philosophy, was sponsored by (gefördert von) Eulogius Schneider, and became a published Enlightenment poet and German Catholic clergyman. After the French Revolution, he served both as a priest in Uffholtz, Alsace and as president of the Société des Amis de la Liberté et de l’Égalité.
Commissioned: Bonner Lesegesellschaft (Literary Society of Bonn), at the instigation of the librettist, for a 19 March 1790 service commemorating the death of the emperor; Beethoven composed the work between February-June 1790. The work is scored for double flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns with strings, SATB chorus (which in Bonn would have been men and boys only), with a solo semichorus (SSATB) and two soloists (soprano and bass). Bonn employed both female operatic soloists and boy soprano soloists in this period. The seven movements take approximately 35 minutes to perform.
