Missa in tempore belli
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Missa in Tempore Belli (English: Mass in Time of War) is Joseph Haydn’s tenth[1], and one of the most popular, of his fourteen settings of the mass.
This mass is catalogued Mass No. 10 in C major, (H. XXII:9)[1], and is sometimes known as the Paukenmesse (English: Kettledrum Mass) due to the inclusion of the timpani in its orchestration. However, the autographed manuscript contains "Missa in tempore belli" in Haydn's own handwriting, showing no doubt that this was the intended title from the beginning.[2][3]
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[edit] Background
Haydn composed this mass at Eisenstadt in August 1796, at the time of Austria’s general mobilisation into war. Four years into the European war that followed the French Revolution, Austrian troops were doing badly against the French in Italy and Germany, and Austria feared invasion. Reflecting the troubled mood of his time, Haydn’s potent integration of references to battle in the Benedictus and Agnus Dei movements is inspired. The Mass was first performed on December 26, 1796 in the Piarist Church of Maria Treu in Vienna.
Haydn was a deeply religious man, who appended the words “Praise be to God” at the end of every completed score. As Kapellmeister to the Prince Nicholaus II of Esterházy, Haydn’s principal duty in the last period of his life beginning in 1796 was the composition of an annual mass to honor the name day of Prince Nicholas’ wife, Princess Maria Hermenegild, August 15th, the Feast of the Blessed Virgin. In a final flowering of his genius, he faithfully completed six magnificent masses (with increasingly larger orchestras) for this occasion. Thus Missa in Tempore Belli was performed at the family church, the Bergkirche, at Eisenstadt on September 29, 1797. Haydn also composed his oratorio The Creation around the same time and the two great works share some of his signature vitality and tone-painting.
This piece has been long thought to express an anti-war sentiment, even though there is no explicit message in the text itself, and no clear indication from Haydn that this was his intention. What is found in the score is a very unsettled nature to the music, not normally associated with Haydn, which has led scholars to the conclusion that it is anti-war in nature. This is especially noticed in the Benedictus and Agnus Dei. During the time of the composition of the Mass the Austrian government had issued a decree in 1796 that "no Austrian should speak of peace until the enemy is driven back to its customary borders."[4] Whether this is enough to call it anti-war in nature is certainly debatable because most of the mass is of a lyrically joyful nature. However, a case for it being an anti-war statement can be made because the two premiere performances, the December 26, 1796 given in Vienna and September 29, 1797 were given on two major war like feasts days of the Church, December 26 is the Feast of St. Stephan, traditionally considered the first martyr of the Church. The September 29, 1797 performance falls on the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, (Today called, the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels) God's warrior archangel who drove Lucifer from heaven. Choosing such performance dates would not be surprising choices considering Haydn's deeply held faith.
[edit] The music
The Kyrie opens like a symphony in sonata form, with a slow introduction before moving on to the main theme. The "Kyrie Eleison" (Lord have Mercy) part is given more importance — the "Christe Eleison" occupies just four bars.
The Gloria is a little choral symphony in the form Vivace-Adagio-Allegro (Fast-Slow-Fast). The lyrical, and deeply felt cello part in the middle section, beginning "Qui tollis peccata mundi" is especially beautiful.
The Credo is divided into sections that generally reflect the text, but with Haydn's usual overriding sense of structure. At the opening, as each voice part enters with a joyous and rhythmic theme, it takes a different line of the text. A truncated fugue begins at the last line, but it is interrupted midway by an elaborate coda using the solo quartet, with the chorus joining in antiphonally.
The Sanctus opens slowly, but builds to a rather ominous forte on the text "Pleni sunt coeli" before moving to a brief, more genteel "Hosanna in Excelsis".
The In Tempore Belli first suggests itself in the Benedictus. This is set mostly in short nervous phrases for the solo quartet, with the three lower voices singing detached notes below the soprano melody reminiscent of pizzicato strings.
The sense of anxiety and foreboding continues with ominous drumbeats and wind fanfares in the Agnus Dei, which opens with minor-key timpani strokes (hence the German nickname, Paukenmesse), perhaps fate itself, knocking seemingly from the depths. This foreshadows the timpani-catalysed drama of the Agnus Dei in Beethoven's mighty Missa Solemnis. The music brightens with trumpet fanfares, ending with an almost dance-like entreaty and celebration of peace, "Dona nobis pacem" (Give us peace).
[edit] Mass text
[edit] Kyrie
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
[edit] Gloria
Gloria in excelsis Deo,
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te. Benedicimus te.
Adoramus te. Glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter
magnam gloriam tuam.
Domine Deus. Rex coelestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe;
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei Filius Patris:
Qui tollis peccata mundi
miserere nobis,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram,
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus.
Tu solus dominus. Tu solus altissimus.
Jesu Christe Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris Amen
[edit] Credo
Credo in unum Deum.
Patrem omnipotentem
factorem coeli et terrae,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum,
Filium Dei unigenitum.
Et ex Patre natum
ante omnia saecula.
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
Deum verum de Deo vero.
Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri:
per quem omnia facta sunt.
Qui propter nos homines
et propter nostram salutem
descendit et coelis.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto
ex Maria virgine: ex homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis
sub Pontio Pilato,
passus et sepultus est.
Et resurrexit tertia die
secundum scripturas.
Et ascendit in coelum,
sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria,
judicare vivos et mortuos,
cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum,
Dominum et vivificantem,
qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.
Qui cum Patre et Filio
simul adoratur et conglorificatur,
qui locutus est per Prophetas.
Et in unum sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma
in remissionem peccatorum.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum.
Et vitam venturi saeculi.
[edit] Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth!
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis Deo.
[edit] Benedictus
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis Deo.
[edit] Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis!
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis!
Agnus Dei, dona nobis pacem!
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Haydn masses are sorted using chronological indices given by New Grove. The Hoboken catalogue had also placed the masses in a presumed chronological order, but further research has undermined that sequence. See Oxford Composer Companions: Haydn, ed. David Wyn Jones, Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 475. ISBN 0-19-866216-5
- ^ Answers.com Missa in Tempore Belli.
- ^ Paukenmesse (Mass no. 9 in C Major) (Franz Joseph Haydn). ChoralWiki.
- ^ James Keller San Francisco Symphony annotator April 2008
[edit] External links
- Download in MP3 format (Creative Commons Licence)
