Great Mass in C minor (Mozart)
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The Große Messe (German, lit. Great Mass) No. 17 in C minor K. 427 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the best-known and most widely performed of Mozart's mass settings, and is considered one of the composer's major works. It is often referred to as the "C Minor Mass".
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[edit] Background
The work was composed in 1782-3. It embodies all of the pomp and solemnity associated with the Salzburg traditions of the time, but it also anticipates the symphonic masses of Haydn in its solo-choral sharing. The mass shows the influence of Bach and Handel, whose music Mozart was studying at this time (see Gottfried van Swieten).
[edit] Premiere
The Mass was written as a result of a vow Mozart made with himself in relation to his wife Constanze and his father Leopold and their strained relationship. The Mass was first performed in the Church of St. Peter's Abbey in Salzburg on 26 October 1783. The premiere took place in its natural context of a Roman Catholic mass, and the performers were members of the "Hofmusik", that is the musicians employed at the court of Salzburg's ruler, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo.[1] There was a rehearsal in the nearby Kapellhaus on 23 October.[2]
[edit] Fragmentary status
The work is incomplete, missing all of the Credo following the aria "Et incarnatus est" (the orchestration of the Credo is also incomplete) and all of the Agnus Dei. The Sanctus is partially lost and requires editorial reconstruction. There is a good deal of speculation concerning why the work was left unfinished. Given the absolute necessity of a complete text for liturgical use, it is likely that Mozart spliced in movements from his earlier Masses for the premiere.[3] For purposes of modern performances, the editions and completions available are those by H. C. Robbins Landon (Eulenburg), Helmut Eder (Bärenreiter), Richard Maunder (Oxford University Press), Philip Wilby (Novello) and Robert Levin (Carus Verlag).
Mozart later reused the music from the Kyrie and Gloria, almost without changes except for the text, in the cantata "Davidde Penitente" K. 469.
A noted performance of the Mass, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, was recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in live performance, about seven months before Bernstein's death. It was released posthumously on CD.
[edit] Structure
Kyrie
- 1. Kyrie (Andante moderato: Chorus and Soprano)
Gloria
- 2. Gloria in excelsis Deo (Allegro vivace: Chorus)
- 3. Laudamus te (Allegro aperto: Soprano I)
- 4. Gratias agimus tibi (Adagio: Chorus)
- 5. Domine Deus (Allegro moderato: Sopranos I and II)
- 6. Qui tollis (Largo: Double choir)
- 7. Quoniam tu solus (Allegro: Sopranos I and II, Tenor)
- 8. Jesu Christe (Adagio: Chorus)
- 9. Cum Sancto Spiritu (Chorus)
Credo
- 10. Credo in unum Deum (Allegro maestoso: Chorus)
- 11. Et incarnatus est (Andante: Soprano I)
Sanctus
- 12. Sanctus (Largo: Double choir)
- 13. Osanna (Allegro comodo: Chorus)
Benedictus
- 14. Benedictus qui venit (Allegro comodo: Quartet and Double choir)
[edit] Use in Film
The mass is included in the soundtrack for the Academy Award nominated animated feature, The Triplets of Belleville for a scene when the characters are at sea. It uses the opening Kyrie movement, and evokes the distressed state of the characters, while capturing the turmoil of a storm at sea.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Deutsch, Otto Erich (1965) Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
- Solomon, Maynard (1965) Mozart: A Life. Harper Collins.
[edit] External links
- Great Mass in C minor (Mozart): Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
- Text and translation
- H2G2 article on the Große Messe
