The Countess Therese never married, but occupied herself with philanthropic work on reaching middle-age.  She founded a home for little children in Vienna, the first of its kind in Austria; her own means not being sufficient to maintain it, she enlisted the support of powerful friends from the Empress down, in its behalf.  She died in 1861, aged 83.

CHAPTER VII

VICTORY FROM DEFEAT

     To those whom heaven favors, the greatest evils turn to greatest
     good. 
          
                                             —­GIORDANO BRUNO.

Of the summer of 1807, the most notable achievement is the Mass in C. It was written at Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the Heroic Symphony some years before.  He remained until autumn hard at work on this, his first mass, as well as on some orchestral works, including, probably the Symphony in C minor, as well as the Pastoral Symphony.

It is rather singular that Beethoven, whose nature was on the whole essentially religious, although he affiliated with no church, did not take earlier to mass composition.  Some of the best work of Mozart and Haydn is in this form; as organist he must have been familiar with their masses.  One can readily believe that the emotional quality of certain portions of Mozart’s Mass in B flat, such as the Et incarnatus and the Agnus Dei, must have strongly appealed to him.  His thoughts often went toward religious music, and it was easy for him to compose in this style.  He recognized the mass as one of the great art-forms, equal to the oratorio or the opera.  From Bach’s time on, it may indeed be said to have been regarded in this light.  It is quite evident that Bach so considered it when composing his grand mass in B minor, which in difficulty of execution, as well as in its extraordinary length, is no longer practicable as a church service, its range in all directions going beyond the requirements of a congregation, or the capacity of the choir.

It is evident that Beethoven enjoyed working on the Mass, and was quite at home in this form of composition.  Here was plain sailing; he knew what he wanted to do, and went at it without hesitation.  There is none of that doubt and groping which is the case with Fidelio, which was continually being worked over, and in reality, never was finished.  That religious works had a great hold on his mind, appears from a letter to his publisher in after years in which he states that if he had an independent income he would write nothing but grand symphonies, church music and perhaps quartets.  In another letter dated March 29, 1823, toward the close of his life, he stated his intention of writing three more masses.