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Bach's Missa of 1733

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Gerda Arendt (talk | contribs) at 13:54, 12 February 2013 (A separate article on Kyrie and Gloria (BWV 232a) of the Mass in B minor (BWV 232), composed as a set much earlier). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Missa
BWV 232a
by J. S. Bach
Sophienkirche, Dresden, possibly the location of the first performance
EnglishShort Mass
GenreMass
Related
TextKyrie and Gloria
Composed1733 (1733): Leipzig
Performed1733 (1733): Dresden
Movements12 in 2 parts (3, 9)
Scoring

The Missa, BWV 232a, by Johann Sebastian Bach is a setting of two parts of the Latin mass, Kyrie and Gloria. He composed the two sections, each in several movements, in Leipzig in 1733 for the court in Dresden. He later derived cantata Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191, from three movements of the Gloria (1745) and included both Kyrie and Gloria unchanged into his Mass in B minor, BWV 232.

History

Bach was a Lutheran church musician and devoted to the composition of sacred music in German. He wrote more than 200 cantatas for the liturgy, most of them in Leipzig. In 1724 he composed a Sanctus for Christmas, which he later integrated into his Mass in B minor.[1] In 1733 he composed a setting of Kyrie and Gloria for the court of Dresden, the Kyrie as a lament for the death of Elector Augustus the Strong, who had died on 1 February 1733, the Gloria to celebrate his successor, Augustus III of Poland, the Saxon Elector and later Polish King, who converted to Catholicism in order to ascend the throne of Poland. Bach presented parts of the works to Augustus with a note dated 27 July 1733, in the hope of obtaining the title, "Electoral Saxon Court Composer", complaining that he had "innocently suffered one injury or another" in Leipzig.[2] The works were performed in 1733, most likely at the Sophienkirche in Dresden, where Bach's son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach had been organist since June,[3] though not in the presence of their dedicatees.

Later, Bach integrated these parts in his Mass in B minor, his only complete mass (or missa tota).[4] He used three movements of this Gloria to compose his cantata Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191, possibly for a performance in 1745.[1] Scoring and structure are identical with the later work.

References

  1. ^ a b Steinitz, Margaret. "Bach's Latin Church Music". London Bach Society. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  2. ^ An English translation of the letter is given in Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel, The Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents, W. W. Norton & Company, 1945, p. 128. (Also in "The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents" revised by Christoph Wolff, W. W. Norton & Co Inc, 1998, ISBN 978-0-393-04558-1 , p. 158.)
  3. ^ The details added in this section are from Christoph Wolff "Bach", III, 7 (§8), Grove Music Online ed., L. Macy. http://www.grovemusic.com/ . Last accessed August 9, 2007.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference laurson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Sources

General sources are found for the Bach cantatas. Several databases provide additional information on each single cantata:

  • Missa BWV 232 history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, bach-cantatas website


Category:Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach Category:Masses (music) Category:1733 works

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