The second movement is unquestionably the best known of the four in Beethoven's Symphony VII. It was popular from the start, being the one subject to audience requests for encore during the symphony's premiere, a practice that continued in concerts throughout the 1830s and 1840s. In England, it was even given a title: "Chorus of Monks."
Though fanciful, that label has a thread of plausibility: musicologist Wolfgang Osthoff observes that stylistic traits (including the sustained chord in the winds with which the movement opens and ends) link the movement to a Viennese tradition of litany singing, including the Wallfahrt or Trauermarsch (that is, outdoor funeral procession), so that a religious connotation does seem strong. (AfMZ 34/3 (1977))
An elaborate dance-trio/double variation design begins with this theme, to which my comments are restricted.
As is already clear from the final two bars, ^#6 ascends over the dominant harmony. I have appended a facsimile of my draft sketch. I have developed the idea of the pervasive 5-6-8 pattern/motive elsewhere, in an article under preparation.
I had intended to write that nothing is known about Carl Kiefert, whose Allegro Agitato No. 1 [for General Use] was published in 1916. Wikipedia, however, came to the rescue. Here is a condensed version of their entry:
[Johann] Carl Kiefert (1855–1937) was a composer and conductor who spent much of his career conducting at the Hippodrome and other London theatres. He wrote songs, arranged dance music from shows and wrote or co-wrote the scores to several London musicals. He orchestrated several West End musicals early in the 20th century and later several Broadway musicals. "His acknowledged expertise and speed at instrumentation made Kiefert the most sought-after arranger of theatre scores and he regularly orchestrated for Lionel Monckton and Osmond Carr."Kiefert's Allegro Agitato (score on IMSLP: link) is typical of a large repertoire of practical dramatic music and would have served equally well in the theatre or in the cinema. Here is the first section:
And an analysis, which shows the positioning of the upper voice on ^5 at the beginning and the clearly marked ascent above the dominant in the cadence.
