Following the defeat of Napoleon, an international conference was held in Vienna to carve up post-war Europe among the remaining world powers. The Congress of Vienna was originally supposed to begin on 1 August 1814 but didn’t get started until November.
To flatter the world leaders attending the Congress of Vienna, Beethoven composed a “cantata” (actually a short work for chorus and orchestra) called the Chorus for the Allied Princes (WoO 95). It was completed by 3 September 1814.
The WoO 95 work for chorus and orchestra is often referred to by its first line, “Ihr wiesen Gründer glückliche Staaten” or “You wise founders of happy nations,” which William Kinderman says betrays the work’s “mindless obsequiousness.” (Beethoven, p. 201)
The text of the Chorus for the Allied Princes is by Joseph Karl Bernard, a journalist who also wrote the libretto for Louis Spohr’s 1813 non-Goethe opera of Faust:
You wise founders of happy nations,
Turn your ear to songs of joy;
Posterity praises your deeds
And blesses them for eons.
From son to grandson in our hearts
Let us cherish the shrine of your glory.
Beneficent princes, happy princes
In future ages’ blessing.
#Beethoven250 Day 273
Chorus for the Allied Princes (WoO 95), 1814
No live performances are available on YouTube. This is a studio recording.