Small organ solo mass

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The Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo in B flat major ( Hob. XXII: 7) is Joseph Haydn's 7th mass composition . It is popularly known as the Small Organ Solo Mass . Its nickname comes from the fact that the Missa brevis in the Benedictus, which is kept very short overall, has an extensive organ and then a soprano solo.

history

The mass was composed around 1775 for the Order of the Brothers of Mercy in Eisenstadt and is named after its founder, St. John of God . The Church of Mercy St. Anthony of Padua has a small gallery, so the number of singers and musicians had to be small. The organ known today as the Haydn organ is a baroque organ from 1732, built by Johann Franz Frey from Wiener Neustadt .

Work description

The mass is written for soprano solo, four-part choir and the Vienna church trio. In addition to the organ, this line-up only includes two violins and bass ( cello or double bass ). The fair is kept very simple and short. In the Gloria and Credo the text is divided into several voices so that different lines can be heard at the same time. As a result, the entire liturgically prescribed text is read, but is not understandable for the listener. A performance of the fair takes about 15 minutes. To facilitate understanding, Haydn's brother Michael wrote a famous long version of the Glorias. He used the first part of the Agnus Dei and incorporated it with modified text as the middle part of the glory part.

Because of the simplicity of the musical means combined with high melodic expressiveness, the Small Organ Solo Mass is one of Haydn's most frequently performed church works.

The mass follows the sequence of the traditional ordinarium , which Haydn divided up as follows in the original version:

Kyrie

01. Kyrie eleison. Adagio. Choir and orchestra (tutti)

Gloria

02. Gloria in excelsis deodorant. Allegro molto. Tutti

Creed

03. Credo in unum Deum. Allegro. Tutti
04. Et incarnatus est. Adagio. Tutti
05. Et resurrexit. Allegro. Tutti

Sanctus

06. Sanctus. Allegro. Tutti

Benedictus

07. Benedictus. Moderato - Allegro. Soprano solo, Tutti

Agnus Dei

08. Agnus Dei. Adagio. Tutti

The line-up of the orchestra includes: 2 violins , bass, organ ( basso continuo ; solo parts in Benedictus).

The performance lasts about 15 minutes.

See also

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