Theresienmesse (H. XXII/12) is a mass in B-flat major written by Joseph Haydn and named after Maria Theresa of the Two Sicilies, empress consort of Francis II. The empress herself was the soprano soloist at private performances of both The Creation and The Seasons in May 1801 at the Viennese Court.[1] The title does not appear on the autograph score, which is labeled simply with the Latin word "Missa".
Between 1796 and 1802, Haydn composed six masses to celebrate the name-day of Princess Maria Josepha Hermenegilde[de] (1768-1845), who was the wife of his patron Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy II. The Theresienmesse, written in 1799, belongs in this series. The work is thought to have been premiered on 8 September 1799.[2] The location was the Bergkirche, near the Esterházy family seat in Eisenstadt, Austria.
The mass is scored for solo quartet, chorus, strings, two clarinets, two trumpets, timpani and organ continuo. Concerning the paucity of winds (no oboes, bassoons, horns, or flutes) John W. Ehrlich has written:[2]
The drastic reduction of the wind choir ... is unusual. We are indebted to [Haydn scholar Carl Maria] Brand for an explanation: a shortage of wind players at Eisenstadt in 1798 and 1799. This is why the Nelsonmesse, in its original version, also lacks winds. But Haydn has turned this lack into a virtue, the ensemble in each case imparting to the work a unique aura or personality that sets it off from its neighbors: in the Nelsonmesse the hard, metallic, fiery brilliance of D trumpets and solo organ; in the Theresienmesse the mellow glow and at times darkish hues of the B-flat instruments.
While probably not as frequently performed as its companions the Nelson Mass or the Missa in tempore belli, the Theresienmesse has attracted critical admiration; Ehrlich for instance refers to it as an "extraordinary work."[2] Another commentator writes, "Haydn's choral writing has all the variety, rhythmic energy and contrapuntal skill of a composer at the height of his powers."[1]
Scoring and structure
The vocal parts of the mass are performed by four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) and a four-part choir. The soloists often appear as an ensemble, without arias. Haydn scored the mass for a large orchestra.
In the following table of the movements, the markings, keys and time signatures are taken from the choral score, using the symbols for common time and alla breve. The choir is present in all movements, except the Et incarnatus of the Credo.
The Mass is a form of sacred musical composition that sets the invariable portions of the Christian Eucharistic liturgy, known as the Mass.
The Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123, is a Solemn Mass composed by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1819 to 1823. It was first performed on 7 April 1824 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, under the auspices of Beethoven's patron Prince Nikolai Golitsyn; an incomplete performance was given in Vienna on 7 May 1824, when the Kyrie, Credo, and Agnus Dei were conducted by the composer. It is generally considered one of the composer's supreme achievements and, along with Bach's Mass in B minor, one of the most significant Mass settings of the common practice period.
The Glagolitic Mass is a composition for soloists, double chorus, organ and orchestra by Leoš Janáček. The work was completed on 15 October 1926 and premiered by the Brno Arts Society, conducted by Jaroslav Kvapil, in Brno on 5 December 1927. Janáček revised the mass the next year.
The Missa in angustiis, commonly known as the Nelson Mass, is a Mass setting by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. It is one of the six masses written near the end of his life that are seen as a culmination of Haydn's composition of liturgical music.
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Harald Feller is a German organist, choral conductor and composer teaching at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. He was awarded the 1983 Grand Prix du Disque Liszt.
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