Beethoven writes to his publisher Simrock in Bonn regarding the Mass op. 123. He accepts his offer of 100 louis d'or but fixes the exchange rate (or rather the standard of coinage) so that he does not lose out. He asks for the money to be left with Brentano in Frankfurt; the manuscript will be sent via Brentano to Simrock. Simrock was still unsure as to whether to buy the mass or not. His concern was that the high percentage of Protestants would make it difficult to sell a Catholic mass. Beethoven therefore suggests putting the German text underneath so that the work can also be performed as an oratorio in a concert hall. The publisher Breitkopf & Härtel had already done so with his Mass in C major; the edition was selling well and the mass was frequently performed, "both in Leipzig and in all other Protestant cities". Should Simrock want a translation, he will commission it directly and also alter the composition to fit the new text. (This would have been easy - at the time the letter was written, the work only existed in sketch form.)
Beethoven once again promises to write in his next letter about the desired complete edition of his works to be published by Simrock.
