Messe solennelle | |
---|---|
Mass by Louis Vierne | |
![]() The great organ at Saint-Sulpice, where the mass was first performed | |
Key | C-sharp minor |
Opus | 16 |
Form | Missa brevis |
Text | Mass ordinary |
Language | Latin |
Composed | 1899 |
Dedication | Théodore Dubois |
Performed | 8 December 1901 |
Published | 1900 |
Movements | five |
Vocal | SATB choir |
Instrumental | 2 organs |
The Messe solennelle (Solemn Mass) in C-sharp minor, Op. 16, is a mass by the French composer Louis Vierne. He composed it in 1899, scored for choir and two organs. It was published in 1900, before it was first performed at Saint-Sulpice in Paris in December 1901. Although scored for two pipe organs, it was later adapted for a single organ, as most churches could not provide two such instruments.
In 1899, Vierne set the Latin text of the mass ordinary without the Credo, which makes it a formally a short mass or missa brevis. [1] He imagined a mass for orchestra, but Charles-Marie Widor, his teacher and organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris advised him to employ organs, for practical reasons. [2] The mass was first performed at Saint-Sulpice in 1901, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December. [3] The church has a great organ (grand orgue) in its back built by François-Henri Clicquot which Aristide Cavaillé-Coll had reconstructed and improved in 1862. [4] The choir organ, in the choir, was built by Cavaillé-Coll in 1858. [5] Vierne planned the effect of sound from the far ends of the church. In the premiere, Widor played the main organ, while the composer, who was by then organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, played the choir organ. [3]
The mass was first published in 1900 by Pérégally & Fils in Paris, [1] dedicated to Théodore Dubois. [2] An arrangement for choir and one organ was made by Zsigmond Szathmáry, as the use of two organs is often not practical. [1] Another arrangement for one organ by Markus Frank Hollingshau was published by Dr. J. Butz. [6]
The mass is structured in five movements, omitting a Credo. [7] The choir is mostly four-part, SATB, but at times divided further. In the following table of the movements, the markings, keys and signatures are taken from the choral score, using the symbols for common time (4/4) and alla breve. [8] [6]
No. | Part | Incipit | Marking | Key | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I | Kyrie | Maestoso ma non troppo lento | C-sharp minor | ![]() | |
II | Gloria | Et in terra pax hominibus | Risoluto | A major | ![]() |
Domine Deus | Molto quasi doppio più lento | F-sharp minor | ![]() | ||
Quoniam tu solus sanctus | Tempo | A major | ![]() | ||
III | Sanctus | Maestoso ma non troppo lento | E major | ![]() | |
IV | Benedictus | Poco più vivo | E major | ![]() | |
V | Agnus Dei | Andante | C-sharp minor | 3/4 | |
Vierne builds on models by his teacher Widor and of César Franck, but adds more development of themes and "imaginative expression". [7] He uses repeated rhythmic figures in the accompaniment. The Kyrie opens with "awesome solemnity", while the "mysterious antiphonal harmonies of the Benedictus" were new sounds in French church music, and the Agnus Dei ends, after antiphonal exchange between choir and great organ, [7] serenely in C-sharp major when praying "dona nobis pacem" (Grant us peace). [8]
Recordings of the work include a 2009 performance by the Chœur d'Oratorio de Paris at the location of the first performance, who integrate the mass in the music of a complete service, with Saint-Sulpice organist Daniel Roth on the great organ and Éric Lebrun of Église Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts on the choir organ. The liturgical chants are performed by the Chœur Gregorien de Paris. The recording has been called "musical and spiritual time-travel". [3]
Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ symphony, which is frequently played as recessional music at weddings and other celebrations.
Louis Victor Jules Vierne was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a Messe solennelle for choir and two organs. He toured Europe and the United States as a concert organist. His students included Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Duruflé.
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ building that permeated the profession and influenced the course of organ building, composing and improvising through the early 20th century.
Louis-James Alfred Lefébure-Wély was a French organist and composer. He played a major role in the development of the French symphonic organ style and was closely associated with the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, inaugurating many new Cavaillé-Coll organs.
Pierre Eugène Charles Cochereau was a French organist, improviser, composer, and pedagogue.
The Church of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of Place Saint-Sulpice, in the Latin Quarter of the 6th arrondissement. Only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and Saint-Eustache, it is the third largest church in the city. It is dedicated to Sulpitius the Pious. Construction of the present building, the second on the site, began in 1646. During the 18th century, an elaborate gnomon, the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice, was constructed in the church.
Pierre André Labric is a French organist, pedagogue and composer.
François Daniel Roth is a French organist, composer, musicologist, and pedagogue. He was titular organist from 1985 until 2023 at the church of Saint-Sulpice in France's capital, Paris, alongside Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, and as of February 2023, will remain as emeritus titular organist.
The Requiem, full title Messe de Requiem, Op. 54, is a Requiem Mass composed by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1878 for soloists, choir and orchestra. He composed it in memory of his friend and patron, Albert Libon, and conducted the first performance on 22 May 1878 at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, with Charles-Marie Widor as the organist. It was first published the same year.
Jean-Luc Perrot is a French organist, carillonneur, composer and musicologist.
Adolphe Alexandre Silvain Marty was a French organist, improviser, composer and music educator who was blind for most of his life.
Paul Robert Marcel Fauchet was a French composer and organist.
Albert Paul Alain was a 20th-century French organist and composer.
Clément Loret was an organist, music educator, and composer of Belgian origin, French naturalized.
Jeanne Angèle Desirée Yvonne Joulain was a French organist, concertist and music educator.
Michel Bouvard is a French classical organist.
Frédéric Blanc is a French composer, organist and improvisor. The last student of Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, he is based as titular organist of Notre-Dame d'Auteuil in Paris. He has played concerts and given masterclasses internationally, especially in the United States. He is focused on the French organ tradition and improvisation.
Albert Félix Joseph Renaud was a French organist and composer who served for many years as organist at the parish church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.
Messe in A is a mass in A major by the English composer Christopher Tambling. The first version was published in 2010, scored for two high voices, the second of them optional, accompanied by organ with optional strings. It was written with boys' choirs in mind, but is also suitable for girls' choirs and women's choirs. A version for four-part choir, organ and optional orchestra was published in 2016.
Surrexit a mortuis, Op. 23, No. 3, is a composition for choir and two organs by Charles-Marie Widor. The text is an anonymous Latin Easter hymn. Named a motet, it was first published by Hamelle in 1906. The single work was published by Dr. J. Butz in 2008.