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C Minor Mass
- Composer
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Type
- Mass
- Opus
- K 427
- Tonality
- C minor
- Instruments
- Voice, Orchestra
Free sheet music
-
- Vocal score
- Instruments
- Voice, Piano
About
The Große Messe (German, lit. Great Mass) No. 17 or No. 18 in C minor K. 427/417a 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".
Background
The work was composed from 1782 to 1783. It embodies all of the 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 the influence of Bach and Handel, whose music Mozart was studying at this time (see Gottfried van Swieten).
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. The soprano solos at the première were sung by Mozart's wife Constance. There was a rehearsal in the nearby Kapellhaus on 23 October.
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. 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.
Structure
One noted recording of the Mass was conducted by Leonard Bernstein for Deutsche Grammophon in live performance, about seven months before Bernstein's death.
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. It is also used in A Man Escaped. It occurs throughout the Channel 4 drama A Very British Coup; the Credo was used as the theme music.
Parts of the Kyrie are used in two separate scenes in the 1984 film Amadeus, winner of 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture. Qui tollis is also used in a deleted scene that was included in the director's cut DVD.
The above text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ( creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ ). It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Great Mass in C minor (Mozart)" ( en.wikipedia.org/ ... at_Mass_in_C_minor_(Mozart) ).
Background
The work was composed from 1782 to 1783. It embodies all of the 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 the influence of Bach and Handel, whose music Mozart was studying at this time (see Gottfried van Swieten).
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. The soprano solos at the première were sung by Mozart's wife Constance. There was a rehearsal in the nearby Kapellhaus on 23 October.
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. 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.
Structure
- Kyrie (Andante moderato: Chorus and Soprano)
- Gloria
- Credo
- Sanctus (Largo: Double choir)
- Benedictus qui venit (Allegro comodo: Quartet and Double choir)
One noted recording of the Mass was conducted by Leonard Bernstein for Deutsche Grammophon in live performance, about seven months before Bernstein's death.
- Mozart: Mass in C minor - Edith Wiens (soprano), Delores Ziegler (mezzo-soprano), John Aler (tenor), William Stone (baritone), Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Robert Shaw (conductor). Label: Telarc.
- Mozart: Great Choral Works - Helen Donath (Soprano), Heather Harper (Soprano), Ryland Davies (Tenor), Stafford Dean (Bass), London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis (Conductor). Label: Philips Classics Records
- Mozart: Mass in C minor, K 427 (417a) "Great" - Barbara Schlick (soprano), Monika Frimmer (soprano), Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Klaus Mertens (bass), Collegium Cartusianum Orchestra, Cologne Chamber Choir, Peter Neumann (conductor). Label: Virgin Classics, 1988/1990/2008
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Messe c-Moll, Version of Robert D. Levin, Diana Damrau, Juliane Banse, Lothar Odinius, Markus Marquardt, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling, Rheingau Musik Festival 2006
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. It is also used in A Man Escaped. It occurs throughout the Channel 4 drama A Very British Coup; the Credo was used as the theme music.
Parts of the Kyrie are used in two separate scenes in the 1984 film Amadeus, winner of 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture. Qui tollis is also used in a deleted scene that was included in the director's cut DVD.
The above text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ( creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ ). It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Great Mass in C minor (Mozart)" ( en.wikipedia.org/ ... at_Mass_in_C_minor_(Mozart) ).
Other titles
Große Messe, Great Mass in C minor, Missa in C minor, Mass No. 17
