Mass No. 2 (Bruckner)

The Mass No. 2 in E minor, WAB 27, by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus and wind band.

The Linz bishop Franz-Josef Rudigier, who already asked Bruckner in 1862 for a Festive cantata to celebrate the laying of the foundation stone of the new Maria-Empfängnis-Dom, asked Bruckner in 1866 for a mass to celebrate the accomplishment ot the construction of the Votive Chapel of the Dom.

Bruckner made four successive revisions of the work, in 1866, 1869, 1876, and 1882. Two versions of the mass are available:

Globally the differences among these two versions are small and are hardly audible when listening to it.

Contents

Setting

The piece is based strongly on old-church music tradition, and particularly old Gregorian style singing. The Kyrie is almost entirely made up of a capella singing for eight voices. The Gloria ends with a fugue, as in Bruckner's other masses.[1] In the Sanctus, Bruckner uses a theme from Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's Missa Brevis.

  1. "Kyrie" Feierlich, E minor, cut time
  2. "Gloria" Allegro, C major, common time
    —"Qui tollis peccata..." Andante
    —"Quoniam tu solus sanctus..." Tempo Primo
  3. "Credo" Allegro, C major, 3/4
    —"Et incarnatus est..." Adagio, F major, common time
    —"Et resurrexit..." Allegro
    —"Et in Spiritum sanctum..." 3/4
    —"mortuorum, ..." Etwas langsamer
  4. "Sanctus" Alla breve, mehr langsam, E minor, cut time
  5. "Benedictus" Moderato, C major, common time
  6. "Agnus Dei" Andante, E minor, common time
    —"Dona nobis pacem..." Etwas bewegter

Previously Bruckner had been criticized for "simply writing symphonies with liturgical text," and although the Cecilians were not entirely happy with the inclusion of wind instruments, "Franz Xaver Witt loved it, no doubt rationalizing the use of wind instruments as necessary under the circumstances of outdoor performance for which Bruckner wrote the piece."[2]

Nota bene

The Deutscher Michel theme of the scherzo of Bruckner's eight symphony is a reminiscence of the Credo of this mass.

Discography

About 90 recordings of Bruckner's Mass No. 2 have been issued.

Of the recordings from the LP era, Eugen Jochum's recording with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on Deutsche Grammophon[3] has been remastered to CD.

Matthew Best's more recent recording with the Corydon Singers has been critically acclaimed.[4]

Other excellent recordings, according to Hans Roelofs, are i.a. that by Roger Norrington, Philippe Herreweghe, Frieder Bernius and Winfried Toll.

Notes

  1. ^ p. 50, Hawkshaw (2004)
  2. ^ p. 48 (2008) Strimple
  3. ^ p. 28, Lovallo (1991)
  4. ^ p. 361, Johnson (2008)

References

External links