Mass No. 1 (Bruckner)
Encyclopedia
Mass No. 1 in D minor, WAB 26 by Anton Bruckner
, is a setting of the Mass
ordinary
for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra and organ.
Bruckner composed it in 1864, and revised it in 1876 and 1881/82. The (small) differences among the versions concern mainly annotations about tempo, etc.
After he had ended his eight-year study period by Sechter and Kitzler Bruckner and he had composed a few small works, as Psalm 112
, Bruckner composed his first grand Mass, the Mass in D minor. He completed the work on 29 September 1864.
The premiere of the Mass in the old Linz Cathedral on 20 November 1864 was successful. Laudatory review in the Linzer Zeitung described Bruckner’s potential as symphonic composer and ranked the D minor Mass in the highest echelon of church music.
and his following Mass No. 2
– the first verse of the Gloria and the Credo is not composed and has to be intoned by the priest in Gregorian mode
before the choir is going on. For the organ intermezzo
of the Credo (after "et sepultus est") Bruckner composed an alternative with woodwind instruments, so that the conductor can choose between these two options.
When compared to the previous Missa solemnis the work is more mature in conception with crescendo
s, which are so characteristic of Bruckner’s later symphonies. "Wagner’s influence is evident as the orchestra plays a major role setting the stage, developing material and intensifying the drama. ... [A] passage by way of illustrating [it] ... might be the death and resurrection section of the Credo ... The plaintive a cappella
setting of 'passus et sepultus est' ... is reflected in pianissimo
woodwind (or organ) and brass chorale
s before the strings propel a tremendous crescendo to a triumphant re-entry of the chorus at 'Et resurrexit'."
However, there is a continuity with previous works. Several passages, such as the Qui tollis of the Gloria, the central part of the Credo, and the devoutness of the word "Jesu Christe", the solemness of "cum gloria" and the dread of the word mortuorum, were already prefigured in the Missa solemnis. Moreover, the string pianissimo in the opening bars of the Kyrie was also foreshadowed in the opening bars of Psalm 146
.
The repeat structure already stubbed in Psalm 112
– a product of Kitzler’s tutelage – is clearly present in the work: repeat of the starting theme of the Credo in "Et in spiritum", and that of "Deum de Deo" in "Et expecto"; repeat of the "Osanna" of the Sanctus at the end of the Benedictus; and that of the ascending scale of the Kyrie and of "Et vitam venturi" in the Dona nobis.
Bruckner used also this ascending scale (a reminiscence of the "Qua resurget ex favilla homo reus" from Mozart's Requiem
), as a stairway to heaven in i.a. the Adagio of several symphonies and his Te Deum
.
Bruckner used a citation of the "Miserere nobis" from the Gloria in the transition to the development of the first movement of his third symphony
. At the end of his life he made again a citation of it, as a kind of supplication, before the climax of the Adagio of his Symphony No. 9
.
and No. 3
.
Except for a partial recording (Gloria only) performed by Pius Kalt in around 1925, the first recording was performed by Charles Adler in 1954. In this recording the intermezzo of the Credo is performed by the woodwind instruments.
About twenty years later, in 1972, Eugen Jochum recorded the Mass on LP box by DGG together the two other Masses, Psalm 150
and several motets. The box has been later transferred to CD. According to Hans Roelofs this recording with organ intermezzo in the Credo remains the reference.
Among the about ten other recordings, Best's recording with organ intermezzo, and Matt's and Gardiner's recordings with woodwind intermezzo are, according to Roelofs, also excellent performances.
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
, is a setting of the 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...
ordinary
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed...
for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra and organ.
Bruckner composed it in 1864, and revised it in 1876 and 1881/82. The (small) differences among the versions concern mainly annotations about tempo, etc.
After he had ended his eight-year study period by Sechter and Kitzler Bruckner and he had composed a few small works, as Psalm 112
Psalm 112 (Bruckner)
Bruckner's Psalm 112 in E flat major is a composition for eight-part double mixed choir and full orchestra, opus WAB 35. It is a setting of the Psalm 113 in the modern liturgy....
, Bruckner composed his first grand Mass, the Mass in D minor. He completed the work on 29 September 1864.
The premiere of the Mass in the old Linz Cathedral on 20 November 1864 was successful. Laudatory review in the Linzer Zeitung described Bruckner’s potential as symphonic composer and ranked the D minor Mass in the highest echelon of church music.
Setting
According to the Catholic practice – as also in Bruckner’s Missa solemnisMissa Solemnis (Bruckner)
The Missa Solemnis WAB 29 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ.Following the death of Michael Arneth, Friedrich Mayr was appointed abbot of St. Florian. The Missa Solemnis was premiered on September 14, 1854, the day of Mayr's...
and his following Mass No. 2
Mass No. 2 (Bruckner)
The Mass No. 2 in E minor, WAB 27, by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus and wind band. Bruckner wrote it to celebrate the construction of a new church....
– the first verse of the Gloria and the Credo is not composed and has to be intoned by the priest in Gregorian mode
Gregorian mode
A Gregorian mode is one of the eight systems of pitch organization used to describe Gregorian chant.The name of Pope Gregory I was attached to the variety of chant that was to become the dominant variety in medieval western and central Europe by the Frankish cantors reworking Roman ecclesiastical...
before the choir is going on. For the organ intermezzo
Intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo , in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work...
of the Credo (after "et sepultus est") Bruckner composed an alternative with woodwind instruments, so that the conductor can choose between these two options.
When compared to the previous Missa solemnis the work is more mature in conception with crescendo
Crescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
s, which are so characteristic of Bruckner’s later symphonies. "Wagner’s influence is evident as the orchestra plays a major role setting the stage, developing material and intensifying the drama. ... [A] passage by way of illustrating [it] ... might be the death and resurrection section of the Credo ... The plaintive a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
setting of 'passus et sepultus est' ... is reflected in pianissimo
Dynamics (music)
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...
woodwind (or organ) and brass chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
s before the strings propel a tremendous crescendo to a triumphant re-entry of the chorus at 'Et resurrexit'."
However, there is a continuity with previous works. Several passages, such as the Qui tollis of the Gloria, the central part of the Credo, and the devoutness of the word "Jesu Christe", the solemness of "cum gloria" and the dread of the word mortuorum, were already prefigured in the Missa solemnis. Moreover, the string pianissimo in the opening bars of the Kyrie was also foreshadowed in the opening bars of Psalm 146
Psalm 146 (Bruckner)
Psalm 146 in A major by Anton Bruckner is a large religious work for eight-part double mixed choir, four soloists and full orchestra. It is a setting of verses 1 to 11 of Psalm 147 in the modern liturgy....
.
The repeat structure already stubbed in Psalm 112
Psalm 112 (Bruckner)
Bruckner's Psalm 112 in E flat major is a composition for eight-part double mixed choir and full orchestra, opus WAB 35. It is a setting of the Psalm 113 in the modern liturgy....
– a product of Kitzler’s tutelage – is clearly present in the work: repeat of the starting theme of the Credo in "Et in spiritum", and that of "Deum de Deo" in "Et expecto"; repeat of the "Osanna" of the Sanctus at the end of the Benedictus; and that of the ascending scale of the Kyrie and of "Et vitam venturi" in the Dona nobis.
Bruckner used also this ascending scale (a reminiscence of the "Qua resurget ex favilla homo reus" from Mozart's Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
), as a stairway to heaven in i.a. the Adagio of several symphonies and his Te Deum
Te Deum (Bruckner)
The Te Deum in C major WAB 45 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the early Christian Te Deum hymn text for chorus, soloists and orchestra, and organ ad libitum...
.
Bruckner used a citation of the "Miserere nobis" from the Gloria in the transition to the development of the first movement of his third symphony
Symphony No. 3 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 in D minor was dedicated to Richard Wagner and is sometimes known as his "Wagner Symphony". It was written in 1873, revised in 1877 and again in 1891....
. At the end of his life he made again a citation of it, as a kind of supplication, before the climax of the Adagio of his Symphony No. 9
Symphony No. 9 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor is the last Symphony upon which he worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896. The symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903, after Bruckner's death...
.
Discography
The discography of Mass No. 1 is less abundant than that of the following Masses No. 2Mass No. 2 (Bruckner)
The Mass No. 2 in E minor, WAB 27, by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus and wind band. Bruckner wrote it to celebrate the construction of a new church....
and No. 3
Mass No. 3 (Bruckner)
The Mass No. 3 in F minor WAB 28 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ. After the 1867 success of Bruckner's Mass No...
.
Except for a partial recording (Gloria only) performed by Pius Kalt in around 1925, the first recording was performed by Charles Adler in 1954. In this recording the intermezzo of the Credo is performed by the woodwind instruments.
About twenty years later, in 1972, Eugen Jochum recorded the Mass on LP box by DGG together the two other Masses, Psalm 150
Psalm 150 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Psalm 150, WAB 38, is a setting of Psalm 150 for mixed chorus, soprano soloist and orchestra written in 1892.Richard Heuberger asked Bruckner for a festive hymn to celebrate an opening, but Bruckner did not deliver the piece in time for Heuberger's purpose. The setting was...
and several motets. The box has been later transferred to CD. According to Hans Roelofs this recording with organ intermezzo in the Credo remains the reference.
Among the about ten other recordings, Best's recording with organ intermezzo, and Matt's and Gardiner's recordings with woodwind intermezzo are, according to Roelofs, also excellent performances.
Records with organ intermezzo
- Eugen Jochum, Chor und Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Elmar Schloter (organ). LP: DG 2530 314, 1972 - CD: DG 423 127-2 (box of 4 CD)
- Mathew Best, Corydon Singers & Orchestra, James O'Donnell (organ). CD: Hyperion CDA66650, 1993 (with the Te DeumTe Deum (Bruckner)The Te Deum in C major WAB 45 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the early Christian Te Deum hymn text for chorus, soloists and orchestra, and organ ad libitum...
)
Records with woodwind intermezzo
- F. Charles Adler, Choir and Orchestra of the Wiener Rundfunks, LP: Lumen AMS 7, 1954.
- John Eliot Gardiner, live with the Monteverdi Choir and the Wiener Philharmoniker. CD: DG 459 674-2, 1996.
- Nicol Matt, Chamber Choir of Europe and Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. CD: Brilliant SACD 92212, 2003.