Czech Christmas Mass
Encyclopedia
Czech Christmas Mass is a classic pastoral
mass
written by the Czech composer Jakub Jan Ryba
in 1796. Because of its opening words, it is also known as Hail, Master! or Hey, Master! (in Czech: Hej, mistře!). Czech Christmas Mass was composed in a frame of traditional Latin mass
(with parts Kyrie
, Gloria
etc.), the story is based on Christian theme of the birth
of Jesus of Nazareth. Despite this, the work has a rather pastoral character with emphasis on a Czech description of the nativity
in a Czech setting. During the centuries, the composition became the most popular Christmas
mass in Czech countries and one of the musical symbols of Czech Christmas.
s and the text gradually adapted with changes in the Czech language. Though Ryba created more than 1,000 compositions, Czech Christmas Mass remains one of the few works performed regularly to date.
The music of Ryba's mass along with paintings by Josef Lada
appear in a 2007 animated film called Česká mše vánoční (Czech Christmas Mass).
of the composition was A major
, however, it was later transposed and arranged in various ways. Today the transposition
in G major
(a tone lower) is the most commonly used version. The main form of the composition is called ordinarium and consists of six parts. The mass contains characteristic short melodic motifs inspired by the folk music, supported by colorful rhythms. It is often considered a Christmas cantata
, based on pastoral motifs. Because of its folk character and simplicity, it has been excluded from the Catholic liturgy. However, it still remains connected with the celebration of traditional Czech Christmas.
The mass consists of nine parts:
The original instrumentation of the work was 4 soli
, choir
, organ
, flute
, 2 clarinet
s, 2 horns, clarion
(klarina; trumpet), 2 violins, viola
, violon-double bass
and tympani.
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
written by the Czech composer Jakub Jan Ryba
Jakub Jan Ryba
Jakub Šimon Jan Ryba was a Czech teacher and composer of classical music. His most famous work is Czech Christmas Mass "Hey, Master!" ....
in 1796. Because of its opening words, it is also known as Hail, Master! or Hey, Master! (in Czech: Hej, mistře!). Czech Christmas Mass was composed in a frame of traditional Latin mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
(with parts Kyrie
Kyrie
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek κύριε , vocative case of κύριος , meaning "Lord", is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, which is also called the Kýrie, eléison ....
, Gloria
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...
etc.), the story is based on Christian theme of the birth
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
of Jesus of Nazareth. Despite this, the work has a rather pastoral character with emphasis on a Czech description of the nativity
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
in a Czech setting. During the centuries, the composition became the most popular Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
mass in Czech countries and one of the musical symbols of Czech Christmas.
Background
Ryba composed his most famous work in 1796, a year after he managed to resolve a dispute over his teaching methods with the priest Kašpar Zachar. He wrote the music to his own Czech libretto; It was his only mass composed to the Czech text. Ryba did not record this mass in his list of compositions created from 1782 to 1798; he mentioned only "seven pastoral masses, one of them in the Czech language". The autograph manuscript was lost; today only the title page is preserved intact. Some parts of the composition were performed separately as pastoralePastorale
For Beethoven's Pastoral symphony, see Symphony No. 6 Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood....
s and the text gradually adapted with changes in the Czech language. Though Ryba created more than 1,000 compositions, Czech Christmas Mass remains one of the few works performed regularly to date.
The music of Ryba's mass along with paintings by Josef Lada
Josef Lada
Josef Lada was a Czech painter and writer.He is best known as the illustrator of Jaroslav Hašek's World War One novel The Good Soldier Švejk...
appear in a 2007 animated film called Česká mše vánoční (Czech Christmas Mass).
Structure
The original keyKey (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of the composition was A major
A major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
, however, it was later transposed and arranged in various ways. Today the transposition
Transposition (music)
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
in G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
(a tone lower) is the most commonly used version. The main form of the composition is called ordinarium and consists of six parts. The mass contains characteristic short melodic motifs inspired by the folk music, supported by colorful rhythms. It is often considered a Christmas cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
, based on pastoral motifs. Because of its folk character and simplicity, it has been excluded from the Catholic liturgy. However, it still remains connected with the celebration of traditional Czech Christmas.
The mass consists of nine parts:
- Kyrie (full text) – The opening part begins with a well known verse "Hej, mistře, vstaň bystře!" ("Hey Master, get up quickly!"). A young shepherd wakes his master, they both wonder at various unusual phenomena of nature.
- Gloria (full text) – a hymn to celebrate the birth of Christ
- Graduale (full text) – Shepherds assemble the people from all the regions and lands. The part ends with an appeal: "K Betlému teď půjdeme, Boha slavit budeme." ("We're going to Bethlehem, to celebrate the God.")
- Credo (full text) – In the Czech Christmas Mass, Credo describes the preparations for the pilgrimage to Bethlehem.
- Offertorium (full text) – the gathering over the mangerNativity sceneA nativity scene, manger scene, krippe, crèche, or crib, is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke...
; People offer musical gifts to God and Christ. - Sanctus (full text) – the shortest part of the composition, an angelic hymn
- Benedictus (full text) – This part with solo sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
in the central role is dedicated to the celebration of the newborn Redeemer. - Agnus (full text) – parting with Christ, plea for protection of all people
- Communio (full text) – The final part ends with monumental choral hymn celebrating the Holy Trinity.
The original instrumentation of the work was 4 soli
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
, choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, 2 horns, clarion
Clarion (instrument)
Clarion is a common name for a trumpet in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It also is used as a name for a 4' organ reed stop. There is wide confusion over whether clarion invariably refers to a type of trumpet or simply the upper register of the standard trumpet....
(klarina; trumpet), 2 violins, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, violon-double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and tympani.
Published scores
- Ryba, Jakub Jan: Česká mše vánoční (Böhmische Hirtenmesse, Czech Christmas Mass) – piano reduction. PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Editio BärenreiterBärenreiterBärenreiter is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still maintains headquarters; it also has offices in Basel, London, New York and Prague...
, 2004. M-2601-0325-2.
Recordings
- Jakub Jan Ryba: Czech Christmas Mass; 3 Pastorellas – Magdalena KoženáMagdalena KoženáMagdalena Kožená is a Czech mezzo-soprano.In 2003, Kožená was awarded the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government...
, Robert Hugo, Capella Regia Musicalis; Deutsche Grammophon ArchivDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
4778365 (2009). - Jakub Jan Ryba: Czech Christmas Mass (Česká mše vánoční) – Jaroslava Vymazalová, Marie Mrázová, Beno BlachutBeno BlachutBeno Blachut was a lauded Czech operatic tenor. An icon in his own nation, Blachut drew international acclaim through his many commercial recordings of Czech music. He was an instrumental part of the post-World War II school of Czech opera singers that were responsible for popularizing Czech opera...
, Zdeněk KroupaZdeněk KroupaZdeněk Kroupa was a Czech opera singer. His wife became lifelong soloist of the National Theatre in Mira Figarova.-Life:...
, Václav SmetáčekVáclav SmetácekVáclav Smetáček was a Czech conductor, composer, and oboist.He studied in Prague among others with Jaroslav Křička, conducting with Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček, musicology, aesthetics, and philosophy at Charles University...
conducting the Prague Symphony OrchestraPrague Symphony OrchestraThe Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 by Rudolf Pekárek. In the 1930s the orchestra performed the scores for many Czech films, and also appeared regularly on Czech radio. An early promoter of the orchestra was Dr...
, Josef Veselka and the Czech Philharmonic Chorus; SupraphonSupraphonSupraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
SU 3649 (1966).