MASS IN D MINOR, K65

INTRODUCTION

There’ll be no marching around the church during this mass, the first one written in Salzburg during the reign of Archbishop Schrattenbach, just after the Mozarts returned from Vienna in January, 1769, and just before Wolfgang turned thirteen.  I can imagine Leopold suggesting a “serious” tone in order to make a good first impression on their patron.  There is no viola part, which is sort of a shorthand that the music was written for the Salzburg court, though the first performance is known not to have been at the cathedral but rather at the Collegiate Church.

No one knows quite why violas were not allowed in Salzburg church music directly under the influence of the archbishops, as they were not forbidden in the edicts of Rome and Vienna discussed previously in “Cantata Mass Trends”.  The quirk is also found in other South German and Austrian areas, including Vienna itself.  One speculation that makes sense is that church practices in these geographic areas was strongly influenced by those in Italy, which employed primarily the Italian Baroque trio sonata instrumentation of two violins and bass.

In this mass, Mozart sticks almost exclusively to the minor mode, unlike his practice in “K139”, where only the beginning of the Kyrie, “Qui tollis”, “Crucifixus”, and “Agnus Dei” are in the minor.  The tone throughout is reverent, with little lilt and not a trace of jollity.

It is scored for violins, basses, organ continuo, and three trombones doubling the alto, tenor, and bass voices.

KYRIE

The Kyrie, a Type I chorus, opens with a solemn introduction in duple time.  The chorus continue with “Kyrie eleison” in triple time, which continues to the end of the movement.  Modulation to a major key introduces two brief lines for soloists on the words “Christe eleison“, then the chorus return.  There is a brief transition followed by a reprise of “Kyrie eleison” to finish the movement

GLORIA

This is the first of six masses in which Mozart is able to set Gloria in less than three minutes, which is almost less time than it takes to say the words aloud.  Here the pace is brisk, the tone is serious, and the monotony of the words is broken by the alternation of chorus and soloists.

The choral writing is Type I throughout until “Cum sancto spiritu”, which is Type II:  “Et in terra pax“, chorus; “Laudamus te“, soprano, alto, and chorus; “Gratias agimus“, chorus; “Domine Deus“, soloists; “Qui tollis“, chorus; “Quoniam“, soprano; “Cum sancto spiritu“, chorus.  If there is any thematic linkage here, it is the vague one between “Laudamus te” and “Quoniam” involving an initial downward jump.

CREDO

A musical device common in masses before Mozart’s time is polytextuality, the overlapping, or telescoping, of lines of text between voices, often for the sake of shortening the long Gloria and Credo texts.  The sung effect is generally confusing and muddy, as in the following contemporaneous examples, all depicting the beginning of the Credo through “Descendit de caelis”:  Eberlin’s “Mass in A minor”, which Mozart must certainly have known; Michael Haydn’s “MH42”, which he must also have known; and Joseph Haydn’s “H XII 3”, which he may have known.  Even if you have the words in front of you, you can’t follow them along with the music.  This practice was on its way out with Archbishop Schrattenbach and was forbidden by his successor Colloredo.

Wolfgang tries it here in the two subsections for soloists.  Most of the ten lines of text from “Et in unum Dominum” to “omnia facta sunt” and the six lines from “Et in spiritum sanctum” to “Per Prophetas” are telescoped so that few of the words can be heard clearly.  What makes his versions more palatable than his predecessors is his continuation of the strong melodic line of the other subsections, which the ear can follow instead of the words.  The effect is certainly agreeable, but Leopold probably had a word with him to avoid the practice in future.  And so he would (mostly).

Credo is organized into four distinct sections.  The first and third are divided into three subsections each, the outer ones for chorus, the middle ones for soloists.  The second and fourth sections are for chorus alone.  The choral writing is all Type I until the fourth section, where it is Type II.  The net effect is brisk and businesslike and the music flows smoothly from beginning to end.

“Patrem omnipotentem“, chorus; “Et in unum Dominum“, soloists; “Qui propter“, chorus, form the first section, ending with the music descending on the words “Descendit de caelis”.

The second section comprises “Et incarnatus est” and “Crucifixus“.  This is set off from the rest of the Credo in two ways:  the music is slower and it is also predominantly in the major mode.

The third section begins up-tempo again with “Et resurrexit“, chorus.  The music ascends at “Et ascendit in caelum”, transitions back to the minor mode, and slows and hushes for “et mortuos“.  “Et in Spiritum Sanctum“, soloists, and “Et unam sanctam catholicam“, chorus, follow.  The music slows again for “mortuorum“.

The fourth section is “Et vitam venturi saeculi“, Type II chorus.

SANCTUS

The beginning of the duple-time Sanctus is imitative, but it is really Type I music.  The sopranos and altos sing the single word “Sanctus” one beat apart, then the tenors and basses do the same thing.  They all sing together at “Dominus Deus Sabbaoth” and continue together for “Pleni sunt caeli”.  The music seems to slow down and speed up depending on the length of the individual syllables, but the steady marching duple beat does not vary.

I said above that the “K65” has “not a trace of jollity”, but Mozart, with an absolutely straight face, next syncopates “Hosanna” so maddeningly that it cannot be counted.  The rhythm sounds like a reprise of the initial “Sanctus”, with first one voice, then another, then another, but if you continue counting “one, two, three, four”, you may come out even only if you’re lucky at the end of twenty-four beats, but all the beats are in the “wrong” places.  I finally cheated and looked at the score and found that he has quietly switched to triple time for “Hosanna”.  However, even knowing this and counting “one, two, three”, all the beats but the last ones are still in the wrong places.  Deadpan musical humor (“Who, me?”).  Someone should really write a treatise on Mozart’s use of rhythm in his masses.  It’s beyond me, but I’ll point it out where I see it.

BENEDICTUS

Next is a plaintive “Benedictus” for soprano and alto wrapped up with that maddening “Hosanna”.

AGNUS DEI

“Agnus Dei“, a Type I chorus, is an assertive, almost demanding, plea for mercy.

DONA NOBIS PACEM

This is the only “Dona Nobis” among Mozart’s masses predominantly in a minor key, though the tempo is upbeat, as is usual.  The music modulates briefly to major chords, but then ends solidly in the solemn D minor with which the mass began.

–05/25/2014