Missa solemnis in C minor
"Waisenhaus"
Mass by W. A. Mozart
Waisenhauskirche (Orphanage Church) of Vienna
KeyC minor
CatalogueK. 139/47a
OccasionConsecration of the Waisenhauskirche
Performed7 December 1768 (1768-12-07): Vienna
Movements6
VocalSATB choir and soloists
Instrumental

The Missa solemnis in C minor, K. 139/47a, is a mass composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the summer of 1768 in Vienna.[1] It is scored for SATB soloists, SATB choir, violin I and II, 2 violas, 2 oboes, 2 trumpets, 2 clarini (high trumpets), 3 trombones colla parte, timpani and basso continuo.

Background

The mass was commissioned by the Jesuit priest Father Ignaz Parhammer, who asked Mozart for music for the consecration of the new Orphanage Church – Waisenhauskirche – on the Rennweg.[2] The commission gives the mass its nickname Waisenhausmesse (Orphanage Mass). Mozart also composed a trumpet concerto suitable for performance by a boy as well as an offertory, both thought to be lost.[2] Indeed, due to cataloging errors, this mass was also considered lost for many years.[3][4]

The first performance took place on 7 December 1768 at the church, in the presence of the court. The twelve-year-old Mozart conducted a choir of orphans in a performance that received "universal acclaim and admiration".[2] This mass is considered Mozart's most ambitious work to be performed up until that point in time,[5] and was his first and longest missa longa.[6]

Structure

The mass consists of six movements. Performances require approximately 40 minutes.

Despite its designation as a C minor mass, the music is predominantly in C major;[3] masses wholly set in a minor key were considered unusual and funereal in the classical period.[4][7]

References

  1. ↑ Robert Dearling (1982). The Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Symphonies. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8386-2335-0.
  2. 1 2 3 Hermann Abert, MR Stewart Spencer (2007) [1923–24]. W. A. Mozart. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-300-07223-5.
  3. 1 2 Stanley Sadie (2006). Mozart: The Early Years 1756–1781. OUP Oxford. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-393-06112-3.
  4. 1 2 Alfred Einstein, Arthur Mendel (1945). Mozart: His Character, His Work. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-19-500732-9.
  5. ↑ Julian Rushton (2006). Mozart. Oxford University Press. p. 22.
  6. ↑ Eisen, Cliff; Keefe, Simon P. (4 January 2006). The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-139-44878-9.
  7. ↑ Salieri, Antonio (January 2002). "Introduction". Antonio Salieri, Mass in D minor. p. x. ISBN 978-0-89579-505-2.
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