agreed with Beethoven's critical assessment of the text, and Christian Schreiber was enlisted to make massive changes to the libretto. However, upon reviewing the changes, Beethoven still was not happy, saying, "I know that the text is extremely bad, but if even a bad text is conceived as a whole entity, it is very difficult to avoid disrupting it by individual corrections". Reception The critical response to the work's initial performance was mixed; while the Zeitung für die Elegante Welt's critic wrote that the oratorio contained "a few admirable passages", a review in the Freymüthige Blätter called the piece "too artificial in structure and lacking expressiveness, especially in the vocal music", and claimed that the performance "was unable to achieve really marked approbation". It has since drifted somewhat into obscurity, and is rarely performed, being regarded by some as falling below Beethoven's usual standards of excellence. However, despite conflicting contemporary critical reports and Beethoven's own misgivings about the libretto, "...after its premiere in 1803 the work was performed four times in 1804, and repeated every year, always drawing full houses, until it was banned in 1825 by the Hofmusikgraf." The "Welten singen..." finale chorus has enjoyed some popularity on its own, usually being rendered as a "Hallelujah", frequently performed by church, high school, and college choirs. Recordings Notes External links German libretto of Christus am Ölberge Compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven 1803 compositions Passion settings Oratorios based on the Bible German-language oratorios Gethsemane Works based on the New Testament