|
Hob. # |
Genre |
Key |
Instruments / Notes |
|
22:02 |
Mass (fragment) "Sunt bona mixta malis" |
d |
Chorus & Organ (continuo) |
|
22:04 |
Mass in Honor of BVM "Große Orgelsolomesse" |
Eb |
S-A-T-B, Chorus, 2 English Horns, 2 Horns, (2 Trumpets, Timpani), 2 violins, Continuo (Bassoon & Violone) & Organ obbligato |
|
23a:01 |
Offertorium "Non nobis, Domine" |
d |
Chorus & Organ (continuo) |
|
From the title page of Haydn's 'alla Capella' Mass
|
"Sunt bona mixta malis, sunt mala mixta bonis" "Good is mixed with evil, and evil is mixed with good" Anon. A medieval definition of the human condition. |
The first time I read about this mass, the implication by the author was along the lines of Haydn thinking this mass was of mixed quality, thus some good mixed with some bad. Hard to know how far that idea has spread in the world, but it does seem to be the prevailing sentiment. Of course, the bad part must be among the lost fragments, since the extant sections, the Kyrie and Gloria, are as good as one could ask. I believe the quoted phrase is far closer to the sentiment invoked by the composer, who also used the phrase when entering it into the Entwurf Katalog. There is a tradition of alla Capella masses in Austria, in Classical times they were based on the strict style as taught by Johann Fux.
Expectations were that only a full composer with some real experience would sit down and write one, and it was in keeping with this tradition that Haydn waited until he was thirty-six years old and a professional composer for eighteen years before embarking on that journey himself. As I related earlier, it is believed by some that the remainder of this mass was destroyed in the house fire of 1768. I have read a couple of different points of view concerning whether the work was actually completed. One says it seems like Haydn just quit on it at the Gratias agimus tibi of the Gloria, while another says the missing parts were destroyed or lost. It is my opinion that since Haydn only entered completed works into the Entwurf Katalog, QED it was complete. The full story may never be known, but despite the great popularity of Haydn's masses (there are great numbers of contemporary copies all over Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Bavaria &c.) there were no other copies of this one, found in an Irish farmhouse!
In terms of working within a tradition, Haydn not only had a full copy of a Fux missa, but he also had been a student of Georg Reutter the Younger who had composed several of them and no doubt Haydn had sung them at St. Stephen's in his choirboy days. Haydn used Reutter as an example in much of his early music, especially church music. But the more interesting fact is the 1762 alla Capella mass with the title 'Sunt bona mixta malis' by none other than Gregor Werner, Haydn's predecessor at Eisenstadt! It is difficult to imagine this present work as anything other than a tribute to Werner, for whom Haydn bore far more admiration than was apparently returned!
The 1983 discovery of the alla Capella mass also helped resolve another mystery, the context of the Offertorium motet Non nobis, Domine, which has the precise 4 part chorus/organ continuo scoring as the mass. Guesses as to the dating of this piece ranged as far forward as 1786, although even then no context was ever offered to support it. But it fits perfectly with the fragments in every way, and together they give a unique representation of Haydn's only surviving essay in alla Capella style.
The Great Organ Solo Mass is unlikely to be confused with alla Capella style! Generously orchestrated even unto the pair of English Horns and two horns, was almost certainly Haydn's first mass written for Eisenstadt following the death of Werner (the Missa Cellensis was written for elsewhere). It is nearly sumptuous in conception, especially with the addition of a sinfonia like Hob I:22 to round out the Ordinary. In addition, Haydn gave himself an opportunity to play an obbligato solo at the end of the Gloria and the Credo, and particularly in the Benedictus. In the previous essay I discussed the 'optional' tag on the trumpets and timpani in 'Festive C Major' symphonies. The same situation applies here. This mass wasn't a one-off, it was in use for some time at Eisenstadt and in many other places. Sets of trumpet and timpani parts which post-date the original performance are fairly commonly known from the mid-1770's. One of these sets is unquestionably in the hand of Elßler Sr., Haydn's personal copyist and father of his subsequent personal copyist who was with him until his death, which is a fairly convincing proof of Haydn's authorship. In my view, taking the next logical step, this mirror situation between masses and symphonies is a strong reinforcement of the concept of later, situational composition for the Trumpet & Timpani parts.
Next essay we will be looking at one of the more unusual works in Haydn's oeuvre. The Applausus musicus is uniquely Austrian, and its period in such a narrow window both of time and purpose makes Haydn's well worth a look (and a listen!).
Thanks for reading!