Mass in B minor structure

History and parody#

The Mass was Bach’s last major artistic undertaking. The reason for the composition is unknown. Scholars have found no plausible occasion for which the work may have been intended. The Bach scholar Joshua Rifkin noted: … likely, Bach sought to create a paradigmatic example of vocal composition while at the same time contributing to the venerable musical genre of the Mass, still the most demanding and prestigious apart from opera. Conductor Robert King summarised that “the composer seems to have occupied part of his last years writing a work that was intended to be a summation of his art, a document for future generations, and a supreme personal opportunity to unite his faith in God with his life’s work as a musician”. Bach first composed a setting of the Kyrie and Gloria in 1733 for the Catholic royal court in Dresden. He presented that composition to Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony (later, as Augustus III, also king of Poland), accompanied by a letter: In deepest Devotion I present to your Royal Highness this small product of that science which I have attained in Musique, with the most humble request that you will deign to regard it not according to the imperfection of its Composition, but with a most gracious eye … and thus take me into your most mighty Protection. He arranged the text in diverse movements for a five-part choir and solo voices, according to the taste in Dresden where sacred music “borrowed” from Italian opera with a focus on choral movements, as musicologist Arthur Wenk notes. Bach expanded the Missa of 1733 to a from 1748 to 1749, near the end of his life. In these last years, he added three choral movements for the : its opening , and . The Sanctus was originally an individual movement composed for Christmas 1724 in Leipzig. Most other movements of the mass are parodies of music from earlier cantatas, dating back as far as 1714. Wenk points out that Bach often used parody to “bring a composition to a higher level of perfection”. The original musical sources of several movements are known, for others they are lost but the score shows that they are copied and reworked. Bach selected movements that carried a similar expression and affekt. For example, (We give you thanks) is based on (We thank you, God, we thank you) and the (Crucified) is based on the general lamenting about the situation of the faithful Christian, (Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing) which Bach had composed already in 1714 as one of his first cantatas for the court of Weimar. Bach quoted Gregorian chant in two of the newly composed movements, in the as a theme of a 7-part fugue, and in the as a cantus firmus embedded in complex polyphony, once as a canon. Bach achieved a symmetry of the parts, with the profession of faith () in the center and the movement in its center. Markus Rathey, Professor of Music History at the Institute of Sacred Music at the Yale School of Music, sees a similarity to architecture of the period, such as the Palace of Versailles. Bach knew buildings in that style, for example Schloss Friedrichsthal in Gotha, built in 1710. Rathey continues: The symmetry on earth mirrors the symmetric perfection of heaven. The purpose of art at this time—in architecture, the visual arts, and music—was not to create something entirely new, but to reflect this divine perfection, and in this way to praise God. We find such a symmetric outline in many pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach,19 but only in a few cases is this outline as consequent as in the B Minor Mass. The parts Kyrie, Gloria and Credo are all designed with choral sections as the outer movements, framing an intimate center of theological significance. According to Christoph Wolff, the Mass can be seen as a “kind of specimen book of his finest compositions in every kind of style, from the stile antico of Palestrina in the ‘Credo’ and ‘Confiteor’ and the expressively free writing of the ‘Crucifixus’ and ‘Agnus Dei’, to the supreme counterpoint of the opening Kyrie as well as so many other choruses, right up to the most modern style in galant solos like ‘Christe eleison’ and ‘Domine Deus’”. Bach made “a conscious effort to incorporate all styles that were available to him, to encompass all music history as far as it was accessible”. The Mass is a compendium of vocal sacred music, similar to other collections that Bach compiled during the last decade of his life, such as the Clavier-Übung III, The Art of Fugue, the Goldberg Variations, the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes and The Musical Offering.

Scoring#

The work is scored for five vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra. Its movements are listed in a table with the scoring of voices and instruments, key, tempo marking, time signature and source. The movement numbering follows the Bärenreiter edition of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (NBA), first in a consecutive numbering (NBA II), then in a numbering for the four individual parts (NBA I). The voices are abbreviated S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor, B for bass. Bach asked for two sopranos. Practical performances often have only one soprano soloist, sharing the parts for the second soprano (SII) between soprano and alto. A four-part choir is indicated by SATB, a five-part choir by SSATB. The requires six vocal parts, SSAATB, which are often divided in the three upper voices versus the lower voices. The requires two choirs SATB. Instruments in the orchestra are three trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), corno da caccia (Co), two flauti traversi (Ft), two oboes (Ob), two oboes d’amore (Oa), two bassoons (Fg), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo. The continuo is not mentioned in the table as it is present all the time. The other instruments are grouped by brass, woodwinds and strings. Bach based movements of the Mass in B minor on earlier compositions. What is known about reworked earlier material is indicated in the last two columns of the table (earlier composition; year of composition), including some educated guesswork, as found in the indicated scholarly literature. This does not include the 1733 version of Part I (the movements that constitute the and ), but earlier compositions which Bach used as basis for that version.

Structure#

class=“wikitable” - + Structure of the Mass in B Minor by J. S. Bach - ! colspan=“3” Movement ! colspan=“5” Instruments ! colspan=“3” Music ! colspan=“2” Origination - ! scope=“col” ! scope=“col” ! scope=“col” Incipit ! scope=“col” Solo ! scope=“col” Choir ! scope=“col” Brass ! scope=“col” Wood ! scope=“col” Strings ! scope=“col” Key ! scope=“col” Time ! scope=“col” Tempo ! scope=“col” Source ! scope=“col” Year - id=“I” ! colspan=“13”

I. Missa#

• id =“1” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 1 style=“text-align: right;” 1 SSATB 2Ft 2Oa Fg 2Vl Va B minor align=“center” Adagio – Largo Kyrie in G minor? - id =“2” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 2 style=“text-align: right;” 2 Christe S S 2Vl D major align=“center” likely - id =“3” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 3 style=“text-align: right;” 3 SATB 2Ft 2Oa Fg 2Vl Va F minor align=“center” - id =“4” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 4a style=“text-align: right;” 4 SSATB 3Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob Fg 2Vl Va D major align=“center” Vivace likely - id =“4b” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 4b style=“text-align: right;” 5 SSATB 3Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob Fg 2Vl Va D major align=“center” likely - id =“5” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 5 style=“text-align: right;” 6 SII 2Vl Va A major align=“center” likely - id =“6” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 6 style=“text-align: right;” 7 SATB 3Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob Fg 2Vl Va D major align=“center” BWV 29/2 1731 - id =“7” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 7a style=“text-align: right;” 8 S T Ft 2Vl Va G major align=“center” ? (music lost) - id =“7b” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 7b style=“text-align: right;” 9 SATB 2Ft 2Vl Va Vc B minor align=“center” Lento BWV 46 1723 - id =“8” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 8 style=“text-align: right;” 10 A Oa 2Vl Va B minor align=“center” likely - id =“9” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 9a style=“text-align: right;” 11 B Co 2Fg D major align=“center” likely - id =“9b” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 9b style=“text-align: right;” 12 SSATB 3Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob Fg 2Vl Va D major align=“center” Vivace - id=“II” ! colspan=“13”

II. Symbolum Nicenum#

• id =“10” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 10 style=“text-align: right;” 1 SSATB 2Vl D Major / align=“center” Credo in G - id =“11” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 11 style=“text-align: right;” 2 SATB 3Tr Ti 2Ob 2Vl Va D major align=“center” lost, also source for BWV 171/1 1729 - id =“12” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 12 style=“text-align: right;” 3 S A 2Oa 2Vl Va G major align=“center” Andante lost, also source for - id =“13” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 13 style=“text-align: right;” 4 SSATB 2Vl B minor align=“center” - id =“14” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 14 style=“text-align: right;” 5 SATB 2Ft 2Vl Va E minor align=“center” BWV 12/2 1714 - id =“15” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 15 style=“text-align: right;” 6 SSATB 3Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va D major align=“center” - id =“16” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 16 style=“text-align: right;” 7 B 2Oa A major align=“center” likely - id =“17” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 17a style=“text-align: right;” 8 SSATB F minor align=“center” - id =“17b” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 17b style=“text-align: right;” SSATB F minor align=“center” Adagio - id =“17c” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” style=“text-align: right;” 9 SSATB 3Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va D major align=“center” Vivace e Allegro BWV 120/2 - id=“III” ! colspan=“13”

III. Sanctus#

• id =“18” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 18a style=“text-align: right;” SSA ATB 3Tr Ti 3Ob 2Vl Va D major align=“center” Sanctus 1724 - id =“18b” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 18b style=“text-align: right;” SSAATB 3Tr Ti 3Ob 2Vl Va D major align=“center” - id=“IV” ! colspan=“13”

IV. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem#

• id =“19” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 19 style=“text-align: right;” 1 SATB SATB Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va D major align=“center” 1732 - id =“20” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 20 style=“text-align: right;” 2 T Ft B minor align=“center” likely - id =“21” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 21 style=“text-align: right;” 3 - id =“22” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 22 style=“text-align: right;” 4 A 2Vl G minor align=“center” 1725 - id =“23” scope=“row” style=“text-align: right;” 23 style=“text-align: right;” 5 SATB 3Tr Ti 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va D major align=“center” BWV 29/2 as Gratias 1731

No. 1 Missa#

and The section is structured, following tradition, in a threefold acclamation of God, a chorus for the I, a duet Christe, and a different chorus for II. I is in B minor, Christe in D major, II in F-sharp minor. The three notes B, D and F-sharp form the B minor triad. Butt notes D major as the central key, corresponding to the “atonement of Christ”. The is structured in symmetry as a sequence of choral movements and solo movements, arias and a central duet, in three sections. The first is opened with a chorus followed by an aria, closed in the last section in symmetry by an aria followed with a chorus; the middle section alternates choral music with solo movements. The trumpets are introduced as a symbol of divine glory in several movements, beginning and ending in D major, with a planned architecture of keys in the middle movements. The central duet is in the “lowly” key of G major, referring to Christ as a “human incarnation of God”. A corno da caccia appears only once in the whole work, in the movement , which is about the holiness of God.

Kyrie I#

The first movement is scored for five-part choir, woodwinds and strings. As the Dresden Mass style required, it opens with a short homophonic section, followed by an extended fugue in two sections, which both begin with an instrumental fugue. Christoph Wolff notes a similarity between the fugue theme and one by Johann Hugo von Wilderer, whose mass Bach had probably copied and performed in Leipzig before 1731. Wilderer’s mass also has a slow introduction, a duet as the second movement and a motet in stile antico, similar to late Renaissance music, as the third movement. Bach based the work on a composition in C minor, as mistakes in the copying process show. The vast movement has aspects of both a fugue and a ritornello movement. In the first fugal section, the voices enter in the sequence tenor, alto, soprano I, soprano II, bass, expanding from middle range to the extreme parts, just as the theme expands from the repeated first notes to sighing motives leading upwards. In the second fugal section, the instruments begin in low registers, and the voices build, with every part first in extremely low range, from bass to soprano I. In both sections, the instruments open the fugue, but play with the voices once they enter.

Christe#

The acclamation of Christ stresses the second person of the Trinity and is therefore rendered as a duet of the two sopranos. Their lines are often parallel, in an analogy to Christ and God proclaimed as “two in one”. Probably a parody of an earlier work, it is Bach’s only extant duet for two sopranos, stressing that idea. Rathey points out that the duet is similar in many aspects to the love duets of Neapolitan opera. Typical features of these duets are consonant melodies, in parallel thirds and sixths, or imitating each other, with sigh motifs as on the word Christe. Rendering Christe eleison as a duet follows the Dresden Mass style.

Kyrie II#

The second acclamation of God is a four-part choral fugue, set in stile antico, with the instruments playing colla parte. This style was preferred at the court in Dresden. The theme begins with intervals such as minor seconds and major seconds, similar to the motif B-A-C-H. The first entrances build from the lowest voice in the sequence bass, tenor, alto, soprano. According to Christoph Wolff, Bach assimilated the stricter style of the Renaissance only in the early 1730s, after he had composed most of his cantatas, and this movement is his first “significant product” in the style.

Gloria#

The is structured in nine movements. The first and last are similar in style, concertante music of the eighteenth century. In further symmetry, the opening in two different tempos corresponds to the final sequence of an aria leading to “”, the soprano II solo with obbligato violin "" to the alto solo with obbligato oboe “”, and the choral movements "" and "" frame the central duet of soprano I and tenor “”. The text of the begins with the angels’ song from Luke’s Christmas story. Bach used this section, the central duet and the concluding doxology as a Christmas cantata, (Glory to God in the Highest), probably in 1745, a few years before the compilation of the Mass. The opening is set as a five-part chorus, beginning with an instrumental presentation of the material. In great contrast to the first section , it is in D major, introducing the trumpets and timpani. The first thought, "" (Glory to God in the Highest), is set in time, compared by Wenk to the Giga, a dance form.

Et in terra pax#

The continuation of the thought within the angels’ song, "" (and peace on earth), is in common time. The duration of an eighth note stays the same, Bach thus achieves a contrast of “heavenly” three eights, a symbol of the Trinity, and “earthly” four quarters. The voices start this section, and the trumpets are silent for its beginning, but return for its conclusion.

Laudamus te#

An aria for soprano II and obbligato violin express the praise and adoration of God in vivid coloraturas. It has been argued that Bach might have thought of the Dresden taste and the specific voice of Faustina Bordoni.

Gratias agimus tibi#

A four-part chorus in stile antico illustrates the idea of thanks and praise, again with trumpets and timpani. It is based on the first choral movement of , which also expresses the idea of thanks to God and praise of his creation (but this cantata movement may have been derived from an even earlier source ). The first subject of this double fugue sets the text “Gratias agimus tibi” (We give you thanks), to a simple melody which rises and falls between the first and fourth scale degrees, the voices entering in stretto (overlapping). The second line of the text, “propter magnam gloriam tuam” (for your great glory), is given a second fugal subject, more rhythmically complex than the first. Similarly, in the cantata the second line “und verkündigen deine Wunder” (and proclaim your wonders) leads to a more vivid countersubject. Towards the end of the movement, as the two subjects are combined, the trumpets take part in the polyphony of the dense movement.

Domine Deus#

The section addressing God as Father and Son is again a duet, this time of soprano I and tenor. The voices are often in canon and in parallel, as in the Christe. The movement is likely another parody, possibly from the 1729 cantata Ihr Häuser des Himmels, BWV 193a. As the Christe, it is a love-duet addressing Jesus. Both duets appear as the center of the symmetry within the respective part, Kyrie and Gloria. Here an obbligato flute opens a concerto with the orchestra and introduces material that the voices pick up. Rathey points out, that the scoring at first glance does not seem to match the text “Domine Deus, Rex coelestis” (Lord God, Heavenly King), but it matches the continuation “Domine Deus, Agnus Dei” (Lord God, Lamb of God), stressing the Lutheran “theologia crucis” (theology of the cross) that the omnipotent God is the same as the one revealed on the cross.