MUSIC 57846:

CLASS #9
MARCH 26,
Lutheran Masses
2012
B minor Mass
 The four Masses, BWV 233-236, are
known as Lutheran Masses

Masses are parodies of Leipzig cantatas,

dating from 1723-1726

Composed" in the late 1730s

Each mass has six movements, for a total

of 24, of which 21 have been identified as
previous cantata movements
 Normally, the Mass is a setting of the
five parts of the Ordinary that are sung
every day:
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus
Dei

The Lutheran Mass is a setting of only

the first two parts: Kyrie and Gloria

No specific performance is known

They may well have been presented to

the Dresden court, for which Bach had
composed the B-minor Missa in 1733

The sole source that survives is a

manuscript copied by J.C. Altnickol and it
is clear that they go together as a group
 Two
Masses use oboes: the G major,
BWV 236, and the G minor, BWV 235

Two horns: the F major, BWV 233

Two flutes: the A major, BWV 234

These
24 mass movements are a
compendium of styles
 The
Mass in b minor BWV 232 is a
musical setting of the complete mass

Bach assembled the Mass in its present

form in 1749, just before his death in
1750
The Sanctus is the earliest composed,
dating back to 1724
The Kyrie and Gloria had been
composed as a Lutheran mass in 1733
for the Dresden court
 Itwas unusual for composers working in
the Lutheran tradition to compose a
Missa tota
Bach's motivation?
B Minor Mass was never performed in
Bach's lifetime
Several performances in the early 19th
century created a revival both of the
piece and the larger rediscovery of
Bach's music
 Bach did not give the work a title

The
scores four parts are simply
bundled together

Thedifferent sections call for different

numbers and arrangements of
performers, giving rise to the theory
that Bach may not have expected the
work to be performed in its entirety
 In1733, Augustus II King of Poland and
Elector of Saxony died

Five
months of mourning followed,
during which all public music-making
was temporarily suspended

Bachcomposed the Missa and

dedicated it to Augustus III
 The work consists of 27 sections:
I. Kyrie
Kyrie eleison 5-part chorusin B minor
Christe eleison. Duet (Soprano I, II) in D major
Kyrie eleison 4-part chorus F# minor
II. Gloria
Gloria in excelsis 5-part chorus in D major.
From cantata Gloria in excelsis deo, BWV 191
Et in terra pax. 5-part chorus in d major.
Opening chorus of BWV 191
Laudamus te. Aria (Soprano II) in A major with
violin obbligato
Gratias agimus tibi. 4-part chorus in D major.
From Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir,
BWV 29
 Domine deus. Duet (soprano I, tenor) in
G major. From BWV 191
Qui tollis peccata mundi. 4-part chorus
in b minor. From Schauet doch und
sehet, BWV 46
Qui sedes ad dexteram patris. Aria (alto)
in b minor with oboe d'amore obbligato
Quoniam tu solus sanctus. Aria (bass) in
D major with corno da caccia obbligato
Cum sancto spiritu. 5-part chorus in D
major. From the closing chorus of BWV
191
 III. Symbolum Nicenum or Credo:

Credo in unum deum. 5-part chorus in A

Mixolydian
Patrem omnipotentem. 4-part chorus in D
major. From opening chorus of cantata Gott,
wie dein name, BWV 171
Et in unum dominum. Duet (soprano I, alto)
in G major
Et incarnatus est. 5-partchorus in b minor
Crucifixus. 4-part chorus in e minor. Ground
bass. From opening chorus of Weinen,
klagen, sorgen, zagen, BWV 12
 Et resurrexit. 5-part chorus in D major
Et in spiritum sanctum. Aria (bass) in A
major with two oboi d'amore
Confiteor. 5-part chorus in f# minor
Et expecto. 5-part chorus in D major.
From the second movement of Jauchzet,
ihr erfreute stimmen, BWV 120
 IV.Sanctus, Hosanna, Benedictus, and
Agnus Dei:
Sanctus. 6-part chorus in D major.
Derived from an earlier work, now lost,
written in 1724
Hosanna. Double chorus (both four
parts) in D major. From the opening
chorus of BWV 215
Benedictus. Aria for tenor with flute
obbligato in b minor
Hosanna (da capo)

Agnus dei. Aria for alto in g minor. From
an aria of a lost wedding cantata (1725)
which was re-used as the alto aria of his
Ascension Oratorio Lobet Gott in seinen
reichen, BWV 11

Dona nobis pacem. 4-part chorus in D

major. Music is the same as Gratias
agimus tibi" from the Gloria
 Performances
In 1786, thirty-six years after Bach's death,
his son C.P.E. performed the Credo at a
charity concert in Hamburg
The Mass was not performed in its entirety
until the mid-19th century; according to
Bach scholar John Butt: There is no firm
evidence of a complete performance before
that in Leipzig in 1859
The Bach Choir of Bethlehem performed the
American premiere of the complete mass on
March 27, 1900, though there is evidence
that parts of the mass had been performed
in the U.S. as early as 1870.