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Sanctus – C major

Largo (“slow, dignified”)

Two four-part choruses

Soprano 1 section—highest note G

Soprano 2 section—highest note G

Longest, Jochum (2:05); shortest, Christie (1:07)

As noted in the Introduction, no vocal parts for this section in Mozart’s hand have survived.  Pater Matthäus Fischer’s copy from about 1800 presents the chorus in four voices, sometimes five with a second soprano section.  The notes in his copy are apparently smooshed together, with some stems going up and some going down.  Twentieth century editors have realized that Mozart had actually written for eight voices and that Fischer had compressed parts to fit on one page of music paper.

The modern result is a Type I movement for two four-part choruses.  It is broad, stately, hymnlike, with loud and soft parts, and with the opportunity to let the brass instruments shine.  It has three brief themes.

Th1 presents three cries of “Sanctus” interspersed with brass chords.

Th2 has five overlapping repetitions of “Dominus Deus Sabbaoth”, beginning softly, getting louder with soaring sopranos on top, and ending with an explosion of brass playing a major version of that old “ghost” theme from “Kyrie”.

Th3 has three repetitions of “Pleni sunt caeli et terra”, a phrase echoing between the choruses while the brass continue both minor and major versions of the “ghost” theme.  A brief extension leads to a big pause.

Hosanna – C major

Allegro comodo (“comfortably fast”)

Two four-part choruses

Soprano 1 section—highest note high A

Soprano 2 section—highest note high A

Longest, Girolami (2:20); shortest, Marriner (1:45)

As in “Sanctus”, modern editors have expanded Fischer’s haphazard vocal parts to two four-voice choruses.  Like “Kyrie eleison” and “Cum Sancto Spiritu”, this is Type II music masquerading as a Type I tune.

Just when we thought we were safe from having to think about fugues any more, the scholars pop up again and say this not just a fugue, but a double fugue.  This is usually supposed to mean one subject is introduced and goes through its paces with a countersubject (please review “Kyrie eleison” if you’ve forgotten—I had).  Then a new subject is introduced and goes through the same paces with its own countersubject.  Then the two subjects are played together, and presumably there’s a free-for-all with countersubjects until everybody gives up.

Since there are only two themes total in this movement and no countersubjects, I had to do some more digging.  It seems you can also call something a double fugue where the two subjects play together from the start, which is the case here.  Since there are no other candidates, I guess they are each other’s countersubject, twining round and round each other as the singers toss the themes back and forth quickly.

At any rate, it is a dandy tune and the rapid vocal runs require a chorus to be on top of their game not to produce a muddy sound.  Theme 1 is easy to hum.  Theme 2 is pretty much everything else, and seldom by itself.

	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode4	Coda
Theme 1	B T A S	A A	T S. B	A canon with B
Theme 2	T A S B	S S S	B A T S		S S/A/T/B

NEXT: BENEDICTUS