Both the Prince and contemporary critic E. T. A. Hoffmann were generally displeased by the work, though the latter still considered it "entirely worthy of the great master [because of its] inner structure [and] intelligent orchestration".

[1] The work has since been overshadowed by the later and better known Missa solemnis, though critics such as Michael Moore have noted the Mass in C major's superiority in "directness and an emotional content".

Beethoven had studied counterpoint in Vienna with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, an authority in the field, but had not turned to sacred music until late in his career.

[2] He received a commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II in 1807, extending a tradition established by Joseph Haydn, who for decades had served as the family's Kapellmeister (music director).

"[2] The musicologist Lewis Lockwood wrote: On accepting the prince's commission Beethoven had praised Haydn's masses, calling them "inimitable masterpieces".

It is not known what building housed the performance, but the two likely candidates are the Bergkirche, which had hosted a number of the Haydn premieres, and the chapel of the Prince's principal residence, Schloss Esterházy.

Reacting angrily to the prince's question and furious over Hummel's pompous laughter as well as the inferior guest quarters he had been given in Eisenstadt, Beethoven left in a huff.

[2] The publisher sent Beethoven an alternative German text by Christian Schreiber, about which Beethoven commented on 16 January 1811: "The translation of the Gloria seems to fit well to me, but to the Kyrie not so well, although the beginning tief im Staub anbeten wir [deep in dust we worship] fits very well; yet it seems to me in some expressions such as ew’gen Weltenherrscher [eternal ruler of the world] Allgewaltigen [omnipotent] are more suitable for the Gloria.

"[b] The composition is scored for four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir (SATB), and a symphony orchestra of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, timpani, strings and organ.

E. T. A. Hoffmann wrote in a review in 1813, expecting the power of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, about the "expression of a childlike serene mind, which, relying on its purity, trusts in belief in God's mercy and pleads to him as to a father who wants the best for his children and fulfills their requests ("den Ausdruck eines kindlich heiteren Gemüths, das, auf seine Reinheit bauend, gläubig der Gnade Gottes vertraut und zu ihm fleht wie zu dem Vater, der das Beste seiner Kinder will und ihre Bitten erhört)".

[10][11] The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs (2007 edition) calls the work a "long-underrated masterpiece",[11][clarification needed] while Michael Moore wrote "it has a directness and an emotional content that the [Missa solemnis] sometimes lacks.