Coronation Mass (Mozart)

The Coronation Mass in C major, KV 317 is a mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart .

The name Coronation Mass is first recorded in writing in 1862 in the first edition of the Köchel directory . It is very likely that the mass was composed for the Easter service in 1779 at Salzburg Cathedral , which fell on April 4th. Mozart dated the score on March 23, 1779, presumably marking the completion of the composition. Immediately after Mozart's death, the mass KV 317 became the preferred composition for services at the coronation of emperors and kings as well as for thanksgiving services. It was probably used for the first time during the coronation ceremonies for Emperor Franz II . The name Coronation Mass, which was probably originally internal to the chapel, soon became common property, based on the Viennese court music band. The fact that the Mozarts were deeply connected to the pilgrimage church Maria Plain led the Mozart enthusiast Johann Evangelist Engl to the unprovable statement in 1907 that the coronation mass was for the annual Maria Plainer coronation festival , which took place on June 27th in 1779 began to be composed - a persistent legend.

The symphonic elements are characteristic of this mass . Solo voices and choir are very clearly separated from each other. The oboe is also of particular importance . The coronation mass consists of the following parts of the Ordinarium Missæ :

Kyrie : Andante maestoso ... Più andante
Gloria : Allegretto con spirito
Credo : Allegro molto - Adagio - Tempo I
Sanctus : Andante maestoso - Allegro assai (and related :)
Benedictus: Allegretto - Allegro assai
Agnus Dei : Andante sostenuto - Allegro con spirito

Occupation:

Strings (without violas ^* )
2 oboes
2 horns
2 trumpets
3 trumpets
Timpani
Basso continuo (cello / bassoon / double bass / organ)
Soloists: soprano, alto, tenor, bass
Choir SATB

^*This string line-up is based on the Vienna Church Trio (2 violins and basso continuo ). Bernhard Paumgartner mentions in the foreword of the Philharmonia edition / Vienna (W.Ph. V. 53) a copy that is in the archive of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and also includes violas and a flute. He does not consider this score, which was written later, to be authentic. Nevertheless, in Mozart's time and beyond, still existing scores were adapted to the respective instrumentation.

Web links

Missa in C KV 317 : Score and critical report in the New Mozart Edition

Mass in C major, K.317 (Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus) : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project

Sheet music in the public domain for Coronation Mass KV 317 in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)
Download in OGG format (Creative Commons License)
Mass in C major, "Coronation Mass": MIDI / MP3 format, with practice files for choristers
"Coronation Mass" AAC format - High Definition Quality

Individual evidence

↑ Ludwig Ritter von Köchel : Chronological-thematic directory of all of Wolfgang Amade Mozart's sound works. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1862, p. 263 f. ( Digitized in the Google book search).
↑ Ernst Hintermaier: The lost legend of the "Coronation Mass" . In: Singing Church. Journal of Catholic Church Music . tape 22 , no. 4 , 1975, ISSN 0037-5721 , pp. 171 .

[1] Ludwig Ritter von Köchel : Chronological-thematic directory of all of Wolfgang Amade Mozart's sound works. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1862, p. 263 f. ( Digitized in the Google book search).

[2] Ernst Hintermaier: The lost legend of the "Coronation Mass" . In: Singing Church. Journal of Catholic Church Music . tape 22 , no. 4 , 1975, ISSN 0037-5721 , pp. 171 .