Misplaced Pages

#402597

38-459: Great Mass in C minor (German: Große Messe in c-Moll ), K. 427/417a, is the common name of the musical setting of the mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , which is considered one of his greatest works. He composed it in Vienna in 1782 and 1783, after his marriage, when he moved to Vienna from Salzburg . The large-scale work, a missa solemnis , is scored for two soprano soloists, a tenor and

76-678: A bass , double chorus and large orchestra. It remained unfinished, missing large portions of the Credo and the complete Agnus Dei. The work was composed during 1782–83. In a letter to his father Leopold dated 4 January 1783, Mozart mentioned a vow he had made to write a mass when he would bring his then fiancée Constanze as his wife to Salzburg. Constanze then sang the "Et incarnatus est" at its premiere. The first performance took place in Salzburg on Sunday 26 October 1783 (the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost). Mozart had moved to Vienna in 1781, but

114-481: A cappella , that is, without an independent accompaniment , or they can be accompanied by instrumental obbligatos up to and including a full orchestra. Many masses, especially later ones, were never intended to be performed during the celebration of an actual mass. The earliest musical settings of the mass are Gregorian chant . The different portions of the Ordinary came into the liturgy at different times, with

152-522: A name", refers to a mass written on freely composed material. Sometimes these masses were named for other things, such as Palestrina's famous Missa Papae Marcelli , the Mass of Pope Marcellus, and many times they were canonic masses, as in Josquin's Missa sine nomine . Many famous and influential masses were composed by Josquin des Prez , the single most influential composer of the middle Renaissance. At

190-533: A period of decline. The non-changing part of the mass, the Ordinary, then would have music which was available for performance all the time. Two manuscripts from the 14th century, the Ivrea Codex and the Apt Codex , are the primary sources for polyphonic settings of the Ordinary. Stylistically, these settings are similar to both motets and secular music of the time, with a three-voice texture dominated by

228-577: A symphony, with soloists used as an ensemble rather than as individuals. The distinction between concert masses and those intended for liturgical use also came into play as the 19th century progressed. After the Renaissance, the mass tended not to be the central genre for any one composer, yet among the most famous works of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods are settings of the Ordinary of

266-537: A theatrical rather than a church setting. He advocated primarily Gregorian plainchant and polyphony. He was primarily influenced by the work of the Abbey of Solesmes . Some of the rules he put forth include the following: These regulations carry little if any weight today, especially after the changes of the Second Vatican Council . Quite recently, Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged a return to chant as

304-471: A wider harmonic vocabulary, and the mass in modern style with solo voices and instrumental obbligatos . The Lutheran Michael Praetorius composed a mass for double choir in the old style, which he published in 1611 in the collection of church music for the mass in Latin, Missodia Sionia . Composers such as Henri Dumont (1610–1684) continued to compose plainsong settings, distinct from and more elaborate than

342-548: Is a prolation canon on a freely-composed tune, and the Missa L'homme armé of Guillaume Faugues , which is also entirely canonic but also uses the famous tune L'homme armé throughout. Pierre de La Rue wrote four separate canonic masses based on plainchant, and one of Josquin des Prez 's mature masses, the Missa Ad fugam , is entirely canonic and free of borrowed material. The Missa sine nomine , literally "Mass without

380-422: The Missa in illo tempore was published in 1610, one Messa a 4 da cappella in 1641 as part of Selva morale e spirituale along with single movements of the mass in stile concertato , another Messa a 4 da cappella was published after his death, in 1650. Antoine Brumel composed a M issa Et ecce terrae motus with the employment of twelve voices, Stefano Bernardi created masses for double choir for

418-610: The liturgy in Latin , the sacred language of the Catholic Church's Roman Rite , but there are a significant number written in the languages of non-Catholic countries where vernacular worship has long been the norm. For example, there have been many Masses written in English for a United States context since the Second Vatican Council , and others (often called "communion services") for the Church of England . Masses can be

SECTION 10

#1732772279403

456-473: The parody technique, in which several voices of a polyphonic source, not just one, were incorporated into the texture of the mass. Paraphrase and parody supplanted cantus firmus as the techniques of choice in the 16th century: Palestrina alone wrote 51 parody masses. Yet another technique used to organize the multiple movements of a mass was canon . The earliest masses based entirely on canon are Johannes Ockeghem's Missa prolationum , in which each movement

494-530: The 'Credo in unum Deum' and the 'Et incarnatus est' and additional music for the rest of the Credo. This edition, therefore, is intended to be used in combination with any other version of the Mass. Robert Xavier Rodriguez has also completed the Agnus Dei. Mozart later reused the music from the Kyrie and Gloria , almost without changes except for the text, in the cantata Davide penitente , K. 469. For

532-406: The 14th and early 15th centuries. Complete masses by a single composer were the norm by the middle of the 15th century, and the form of the mass, with the possibilities for large-scale structure inherent in its multiple movement format, was the main focus of composers within the area of sacred music; it was not to be eclipsed until the motet and related forms became more popular in the first decades of

570-418: The 16th century. Most 15th-century masses were based on a cantus firmus , usually from a Gregorian chant, and most commonly put in the tenor voice. The cantus firmus sometimes appeared simultaneously in other voices, using a variety of contrapuntal techniques. Later in the century, composers such as Guillaume Dufay , Johannes Ockeghem , and Jacob Obrecht , used secular tunes for cantus firmi. This practice

608-462: The Agnus Dei. The Sanctus and the Benedictus are partially lost and require editorial reconstructions. There is a good deal of speculation concerning why the work was left unfinished. For purposes of modern performances, the editions and completions available are as follows: The editions by Landon, Eder, Beyer, Maunder and Kemme aim to simply fill out the missing orchestrations and choral parts in

646-481: The Alps, using instruments for color and creating dialogues between solo voices and chorus that was to become characteristic of the 18th-century Viennese style. The so-called "Neapolitan" or "cantata" mass style also had much influence on 18th-century mass composition, with its short sections set as self-contained solo arias and choruses in a variety of styles. The 18th-century Viennese mass combines operatic elements from

684-403: The Credo and Sanctus, whereas the editions by Schmitt, Wilby and Levin aim to complete the work by either using movements from other masses or composing new music for the Credo and Agnus Dei through the use of parody or elaboration of period sketches by Mozart. Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs ( Musikproduktion Höflich ) just offers a complete Credo and an Agnus Dei. For the Credo this means a completions of

722-595: The Kyrie probably being first (perhaps as early as the 7th century) and the Credo being last (it did not become part of the Roman mass until 1014). In the early 14th century, composers began writing polyphonic versions of the sections of the Ordinary. The reason for this surge in interest is not known, but it has been suggested that there was a shortage of new music since composers were increasingly attracted to secular music, and overall interest in writing sacred music had entered

760-498: The Mass . Many of the famous masses of the Romantic era were Requiems , one of the most famous, A German Requiem by Brahms , being the composer's own selection of biblical texts rather than a setting of a standard liturgy. By the end of the 19th century, composers were combining modern elements with the characteristics of Renaissance polyphony and plainchant, which continued to influence 20th-century composers, possibly fueled by

798-485: The Ten Commandments, 1 to 9 being followed by the words 'Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this law', and the tenth by 'Lord have mercy upon us and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee'. Since the texts of the 'Benedictus qui venit' and the 'Agnus Dei' do not actually feature in the liturgy of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer , these movements are often missing from some of

SECTION 20

#1732772279403

836-471: The balconies of the Salzburg Cathedral , such as the 1630 Missa primi toni octo vocum , when he was music director of the new building. The early Baroque era initiated stylistic changes which led to increasing disparity between masses written entirely in the traditional polyphonic manner (stile antico), whose principal advancements were the use of the basso continuo and the gradual adoption of

874-549: The cantata Mozart added two new arias and a cadenza for the fugue concluding the work. The orchestra consists of 1 flute (only used in the Et incarnatus est), 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, organ, and strings. The work embodies pomp and solemnity associated with the Salzburg traditions of the time, but it also anticipates the symphonic masses of Joseph Haydn in its solo-choral sharing. The mass shows

912-460: The cantata mass with a trend in the symphony and concerto to organize choral movements. The large scale masses of the first half of the century still have Glorias and Credos divided into many movements, unlike smaller masses for ordinary churches. Many of Mozart's masses are in missa brevis form, as are some of Haydn's early ones. Later masses, especially of Haydn, are of symphonic structure, with long sections divided into fewer movements, organized like

950-630: The earlier Anglican settings. Charles Villiers Stanford composed a Benedictus and Agnus in the key of F major which was published separately to complete his service in C. With reforms in the Anglican liturgy, the movements are now usually sung in the same order that they are in the Roman Catholic rite. Choral settings of the Creed, the most substantial movement, are nowadays rarely performed in Anglican cathedrals. Well known Anglican settings of

988-466: The earlier Gregorian chants. A further disparity arose between the festive missa solemnis and the missa brevis , a more compact setting. Composers like Johann Joseph Fux in the 18th century continued to cultivate the stile antico mass, which was suitable for use on weekdays and at times when orchestral masses were not practical or appropriate, and in 19th-century Germany the Cecilian movement kept

1026-760: The end of the 16th century, prominent representatives of a cappella choral counterpoint included the Englishman William Byrd , the Castilian Tomás Luis de Victoria and the Roman Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina , whose Missa Papae Marcelli is sometimes credited with saving polyphony from the censure of the Council of Trent. By the time of Palestrina, however, most composers outside of Rome were using other forms for their primary creative outlet for expression in

1064-430: The entire Hofmusik , that is the musicians employed at the court of Salzburg's ruler, Prince-Archbishop Count Hieronymus von Colloredo and thus Mozart's former colleagues. There was a rehearsal in the nearby Kapellhaus on 23 October 1783. The work is incomplete, missing the Credo movements following the aria Et incarnatus est (the orchestration of the only two surviving Credo movements being incomplete) and all of

1102-480: The highest part. Most of this music was written or assembled at the papal court at Avignon . Several anonymous complete masses from the 14th century survive, including the Tournai Mass ; however, discrepancies in style indicate that the movements of these masses were written by several composers and later compiled by scribes into a single set. The first complete mass we know of whose composer can be identified

1140-732: The influence of Bach and Handel , whose music Mozart was studying at this time (see Gottfried van Swieten ). On 20 August 2016 the version reconstructed by Helmut Eder was performed at the Royal Albert Hall , for the first time as part of The Proms series, by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Chorus , with Ilan Volkov conducting and featuring Louise Alder , Carolyn Sampson , Benjamin Hulett and Matthew Rose . Notes Sources Mass (music) Most Masses are settings of

1178-534: The mass in its musical incarnation continues to thrive beyond the walls of the church, as is evident in many of the 21st-century masses listed here which were composed for concert performance rather than in service of the Roman Rite. Pope Pius X initiated many regulations reforming the liturgical music of the mass in the early 20th century. He felt that some of the masses composed by the famous post-Renaissance composers were too long and often more appropriate for

Great Mass in C minor, K. 427 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-667: The motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini (1903) of Pope Pius X . The revival of choral celebration of Holy Communion in the Anglican Church in the late 19th century marked the beginning several liturgical settings of mass texts in English, particularly for choir and organ. The movement for liturgical reform has resulted in revised forms of the mass, making it more functional by using a variety of accessible styles, popular or ethnic, and using new methods such as refrain and response to encourage congregational involvement. Nevertheless,

1254-480: The primary music of the liturgy, as this is explicitly mentioned in the documents of the Second Vatican Council , specifically Sacrosanctum Concilium 116. These are more often known as 'Communion Services', and differ not only in that they are settings of English words, but also, as mentioned above, in that the Gloria usually forms the last movement. Sometimes the Kyrie movement takes the form of sung responses to

1292-609: The realm of sacred music, principally the motet and the madrigale spirituale ; composers such as the members of the Venetian School preferred the possibilities inherent in the new forms. Other composers, such as Orlande de Lassus , working in Munich and comfortably distant from the conservative influence of the Council of Trent , continued to write parody masses on secular songs. Monteverdi composed masses in stile antico ,

1330-563: The tradition alive. František Brixi , who worked at the Prague Cathedral , wrote his Missa aulica , a missa brevis in C, for four voices, trumpets, violin and continuo, "cantabile" but solo voices just singing short passages within chorale movements. The Italian style cultivated orchestral masses including soloists, chorus and obbligato instruments. It spread to the German-speaking Catholic countries north of

1368-405: Was accepted with little controversy until prohibited by the Council of Trent in 1562. In particular, the song L'homme armé has a long history with composers; more than 40 separate mass settings exist. Other techniques for organizing the cyclic mass evolved by the beginning of the 16th century, including the paraphrase technique, in which the cantus firmus was elaborated and ornamented, and

1406-464: Was paying a visit to his home town in the company of Constanze, who had not yet met his father or his sister ( Nannerl ). The performance consisted of just the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Benedictus, as surviving parts and a score copy from ca. 1800 show. It took place in the Church of St. Peter's Abbey in the context of a Roman Catholic mass . Mozart's sister's diary mentions that the performers were

1444-555: Was the Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) by Guillaume de Machaut in the 14th century. The musical setting of the Ordinary of the mass was the principal large-scale form of the Renaissance. The earliest complete settings date from the 14th century, with the most famous example being the Messe de Nostre Dame of Guillaume de Machaut . Individual movements of the mass, and especially pairs of movements (such as Gloria–Credo pairs, or Sanctus–Agnus pairs), were commonly composed during

#402597