| Windhaager Messe | |
|---|---|
| Mass by Anton Bruckner | |
 The young Bruckner | |
| Key | C major |
| Catalogue | WAB 25 |
| Form | Missa brevis |
| Composed | 1842: Windhaag |
| Dedication | Anna Jobst |
| Published | 1932: Regensburg |
| Movements | 6 |
| Vocal | Alto soloist |
| Instrumental | Organ and two horns |
The Windhaager Messe, WAB 25, is a missa brevis composed by Anton Bruckner in 1842.
Bruckner composed the Windhaager Messe (WAB 25) in 1842, while he was a schoolteacher's assistant in Windhaag.
It was first believed that it was composed for Maria Jobst, the alto soloist in the Windhaag church choir. [1] [2] It is now stated that it was composed for her younger sister, Anna. [3] [4]
The work, the manuscript of which is stored in the archive of Wels, was first published in band I, pp. 173–189 of the Göllerich/Auer biography. It is edited in Band XXI/2 of the Gesamtausgabe. [5]
The Windhaager Messe is a Missa brevis in C major for alto solo, two horns and organ.
The work is divided into six parts:
Total duration: 8 to 10 minutes.
The work employs a text compressed to the absolute minimum and is predominantly homophonic in texture – often close to plainchant as, for example, the initial phrase of the Kyrie and the Credo [1] – with occasional contrapuntal interruptions. The organ part consists of the alto solo line and a mostly unfigured bass. [6] [7] The use of horns "adds a warm, familiar timbre to music, and helps to clarify the harmony". [1]
As in the Landmesse tradition, [8] the Gloria and the Credo employ only a portion of the extensive text usually associated with these sections of the Mass. [6] Such short masses (Missa brevis) were frequently performed in Austrian country churches, especially during Advent and Lent. [1] [4]
The short Sanctus presents the most extensive horn parts in the work. The Benedictus, in E♭ major, is more melodic and uses a much less syllabic text setting than the rest of the work. The final notes of the Agnus Dei recall the closing of the Credo – a small, but effective touch of musical integration. [1] [9]
Bruckner’s designation of this composition as a Choral-Messe referred to its simple, hymn-like style. [1] Tonally the work follows conventional harmonic patterns, but, as Bruckner was to do throughout his life, it also contains frequent modulations, often to rather distant keys, without the uses of pivot chords. [10] [9] The frequent appearances of unison passages throughout this work are an additional hallmark of Bruckner’s later style. [1] Kinder concludes his analysis as:
...the attention lavished to this modest work is justified, not merely because it was Bruckner's first extended composition, but also because of its interesting and prophetic musical ideas. [1]
To make the Windhaager Messe usable for Eucharist celebration Kajetan Schmidinger and Joseph Messner made in C. 1927 an arrangement for mixed choir with revised Gloria and Credo, and accompaniment by organ, horns and string quintet. [11] [12]
A selection among the recordings of the original setting of the Mass:
Great Mass in C minor, K. 427/417a, is the common name of the musical setting of the mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which is considered one of his greatest works. He composed it in Vienna in 1782 and 1783, after his marriage, when he moved to Vienna from Salzburg. The large-scale work, a missa solemnis, is scored for two soprano soloists, a tenor and a bass, double chorus and large orchestra. It remained unfinished, missing large portions of the Credo and the complete Agnus Dei.
The Krönungsmesse, composed in 1779, is one of the most popular of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 17 extant settings of the Ordinary of the Mass. While it is relatively short, Bruce C. Macintyre, writing in the Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia, classifies it as a Missa Longa, on the basis of the festal character, size of the orchestra, which includes a substantial brass section, orchestral introductions for the movements and the setting of the intonations for the Gloria and Credo.
Missa brevis usually refers to a Mass composition that is short because part of the text of the Mass ordinary that is usually set to music in a full Mass is left out, or because its execution time is relatively short.
The Mass No. 3 in F minor, WAB 28, is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, and organ ad libitum, that Anton Bruckner composed in 1867–1868.
The Mass No. 2 in E minor, WAB 27 is a setting of the mass ordinary for eight-part mixed choir and fifteen wind instruments, that Anton Bruckner composed in 1866.
The Requiem in D minor, WAB 39, is a Missa pro defunctis composed by Anton Bruckner in 1849.
The Missa solemnis, WAB 29, is a solemn mass composed by Anton Bruckner in 1854 for the installation of Friedrich Mayer as abbot of St. Florian Monastery on 14 September 1854.
The Magnificat, WAB 24 is a setting of the Magnificat for SATB choir and soloists, orchestra and organ composed by Anton Bruckner in 1852.
The Mass No. 1 in D minor, WAB 26 by Anton Bruckner, is a setting of the Mass ordinary for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra, and organ.
The Credo Mass in C major, K. 257, is a mass composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1776. It is scored for SATB soloists, SATB choir, violin I and II, 2 oboes, 2 clarini, 3 trombones colla parte and basso continuo.
The Kronstorfer Messe, WAB 146, is a missa brevis composed by Anton Bruckner in 1843-1844.
The Messe für den Gründonnerstag, WAB 9, is a missa brevis composed by Anton Bruckner in 1844.
Ave Maria, WAB 6, is a sacred motet by Anton Bruckner, a setting of the Latin prayer Ave Maria. He composed it in Linz in 1861 and scored the short work in F major for seven unaccompanied voices. The piece, sometimes named an Offertorium, was published in Vienna in 1867. Before, Bruckner composed the same prayer in 1856 for soprano, alto, a four-part mixed choir, organ and cello, WAB 5. Later, he set the text in 1882 for a solo voice (alto) and keyboard, WAB 7.
Asperges me, WAB 4, is a sacred motet composed by Anton Bruckner. It is a setting of the Latin Asperges me, the antiphon used for the celebration of Asperges.
Libera me, WAB 21, is the first of two settings of the absoute Libera me, composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1843.
Tantum ergo, WAB 44, is the last of eight settings of the hymn Tantum ergo composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1854.
The Mayer Cantata, WAB 60, is a cantata composed by Anton Bruckner in 1855. It is the second of three larger-scale occasional compositions, and the composer's first extended composition for large wind ensemble and choir.
The Missa cellensis, Hob. XXII:8, fully Missa cellensis fatta per il Signor Liebe de Kreutzner composed in 1782, is Joseph Haydn's eighth setting of the Ordinary of the Mass. The title translates and is often identified by the German name Mariazeller Messe. It was commissioned by the officer Anton Liebe von Kreutzner on the occasion of his ennoblement.
Messe in G is a mass in G major by the English composer Christopher Tambling. He composed it in 2013, scored for mixed choir and organ, optionally also with orchestra. The congregation is meant to participate, singing the theme of the Gloria as a refrain, and the theme of the Sanctus. The mass was first published in 2014.
Live performances can be heard on YouTube
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