The Mass No. 3 in F minor WAB 28 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ. After the 1867 success of Bruckner's Mass No. 1 in D minor, he was commissioned "to write a new Mass for the Burgkapelle."[1] Bruckner wrote the first version between Septembers 1867 - 1868,[2] in Linz (just before his move to Vienna)[3] made slight revisions in 1877 and 1881, in preparation for performances at the Hofkapelle,[4] mainly to address "difficulties of execution"[5] but also to take into account what he had learned from studying Mozart's Requiem,[6] correcting some instances of parallel octaves if not justified by Mozart's example,[7] In the 1890s Bruckner was still revising the work,[8] but there were very little changes made to the vocal parts after 1868.[9]
The composer dedicated the piece Hofrat Imhof at "the last minute."[10] Leopold Nowak, however, believed that the piece was actually dedicated to conductor Johann Herbeck.[11]
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The quartet of vocal soloists consists of a soprano, an alto, a tenor, and a bass, while the choir consists of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. The orchestra consists of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B-flat), 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, alto, tenor and bass trombones, contrabass tuba, timpani, and strings.
The work is divided into six movements.
The Gloria starts out with the words "Gloria in excelsis Deo" and the Credo with the words "Credo in unum Deum" sung by the whole choir, rather than intoned by a soloist, as in Bruckner's previous masses. The setting is more symphonic than that of the Mass No. 1, with a larger contribution of the soloists.
Whereas the Gloria ends with a fugue in all Bruckner's masses, in Mass No. 3, as in his previous Missa solemnis, the Credo also ends with a fugue, a "classical feature"[12]. In this fugue the next voice entry is preceded by the acclamation "Credo, credo". The theme of the Agnus Dei has some reminiscence of that of the Missa solemnis.
The first rehearsals, conducted by Johann Herbeck at the Augustinerkirche, took place in 1868 or 1869, but "were badly attended by orchestral players" and were "generally unsuccessful."[13] Ultimately, Herbeck found the mass "too long and unsingable."[14] After various delays, the mass was finally premiered on June 16, 1872, at the Augustinerkirche,[15] with Bruckner himself conducting.[16] Herbeck changed his opinion of the piece, claiming to know only two masses: this one and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis.[17][18] Franz Liszt and even Eduard Hanslick praised the piece.[19] In some later performances, Bruckner was in the organ loft rather than on the podium.[20] At a November 1893 performance of this mass, Johannes Brahms "applauded ... so enthusiastically ... that Bruckner personally thanked him."[21]
Bruckner make four successive revisions of the work, in 1876, 1877, 1881 and from 1890 to 1893.[22] The first edition was published in 1894, but it contained "numerous spurious performance directions and articulations as well as massive reorchestration, particularly of the winds."[23] Bruckner was angry when he saw it in print, and annotated instances of parallel octaves which he had eliminated in his own revisions.[24] In 1944, Robert Haas put out an edition as part of the Gesamtausgabe, which was superseded by Leopold Nowak's edition of 1960 and again just recently by Paul Hawkshaw's of 2005. These three editors had access to various manuscripts and contemporary copies. Hans Ferdinand Redlich, on the other hand, did not for his Eulenburg Edition, and complained of being denied access by Nowak.[25] Bruckner indicated bars 170-179 of the Gloria - a part of the last "Miserere nobis" - as optional. As yet, these ten bars were recorded by only a few conductors.
About 50 recordings of Bruckner's Mass No. 3 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[29] has been remastered to CD.
Matthew Best's more recent recording with the Corydon Singers has been critically acclaimed, particularly for Best's not toning down "the Wagnerian element in the gorgeous Benedictus."[30]
Other excellent recordings, according to Hans Roelofs, are that by i.a. Heinz Rögner and Franz Welser-Möst.
Welser-Möst recorded the optional bars 170-179 of the Gloria, that are not recorded by most other conductors.