Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Joseph Karl Bernard, Wien, wohl 23. Januar 1824, Autograph

Joseph Karl Bernard had written the text for the Oratorio "Der Sieg des Kreuzes" ("The Victory of the Cross") for Beethoven and sent it to him in autumn 1823. The letter is a delayed response, possibly occasioned by a reminder from the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde who had commissioned the oratorio. Beethoven writes that he cannot set the text to music without it being thoroughly reworked and gives Bernard permission to give the libretto to a less critical composer. He stresses that this is not to be understood as a low opinion of the work.

Beethoven excuses his long silence on account of his move (which had happened a quarter of a year before, as had the arrival of the text).

Beethoven's plan for the Oratorio "Der Sieg des Kreuzes" is one of the never completed episodes in his life, although he considered it for many years. As early as 1815 the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde had commissioned an oratorio from the very famous composer, but it never came to anything for a variety of reasons. In 1818 the commission was repeated and made more concrete, in 1819 a not so insignificant down payment was even made. Between 1820 and 1823 Beethoven waited for a libretto, for which his friend Bernard had been engaged. When Bernard finally delivered the text at the end of 1823 it proved to be inferior and boring. The Gesellschaft was put off once again: Beethoven talked his way out of it, citing corrections to the text which were absolutely necessary before work on the music could be started. As we know ,the Oratorio "Der Sieg des Kreuzes" was never set to music by Beethoven. We know of no sketches or work on the subject. In his obituary which appeared in the Wiener Zeitung after his death, the oratorio is mentioned as an uncompleted work.