Great Mass in C minor, K. 427


Great Mass in C minor, K. 427/417a, is the common name of the musical setting of the mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which is considered one of his greatest works. He composed it in Vienna in 1782 and 1783, aged 24-25, after his marriage, when he moved to Vienna from Salzburg. The large-scale work, a missa solemnis, is scored for two soprano soloists, a tenor and a bass, double chorus and large orchestra. It remained unfinished, missing large portions of the Credo and the complete Agnus Dei.

Composition and first performance

The work was composed during 1782–83. In a letter to his father Leopold dated 4 January 1783, Mozart mentioned a vow he had made to write a mass when he would bring his then fiancée Constanze as his wife to Salzburg. However, Ulrich Konrad, after an analysis of that letter – the only source for this theory – fails to support this belief. Konrad concludes that "the supposition that Mozart composed the C minor Mass with Constanze's recovery in mind or with his eye on the longed-for marriage as the fulfilment of a vow of some kind – conveyed even in recent literature – is certainly not stated unambiguously in the text cited here. And there is no other authentic source available."
The first performance took place in Salzburg on Sunday 26 October 1783. Mozart had moved to Vienna in 1781, but was paying a visit to his home town in the company of Constanze, who had not yet met his father or his sister. Mozart tailored the large range and challenging coloratura of the soprano solos to Constanze's voice, so she could suitably display her vocal gifts during their visit to Salzburg in 1783. Both "Christe" and "Et incarnatus" have written-out cadenzas, the latter unusually accompanied by a flute, oboe and bassoon.
The performance consisted of just the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Benedictus, as surviving parts and a score copy from ca. 1800 show. It took place in the church of Saint Peter's Abbey in the context of a Roman Catholic mass. Mozart's sister's diary mentions that the performers were the entire Hofmusik, that is the musicians employed at the court of Salzburg's ruler, Prince-Archbishop Count Hieronymus von Colloredo and thus Mozart's former colleagues. There was a rehearsal in the nearby Kapellhaus on 23 October 1783.

Fragmentary status

The work is incomplete, missing the Credo movements following the aria Et incarnatus est and all of the Agnus Dei. The Sanctus and the Benedictus are partially lost and require editorial reconstructions. There is a good deal of speculation concerning why the work was left unfinished. For purposes of modern performances, the editions and completions available are as follows:
The editions by Landon, Eder, Beyer, Maunder and Kemme aim to simply fill out the missing orchestrations and choral parts in the Credo and Sanctus, whereas the editions by Schmitt, Wilby and Levin aim to complete the work by either using movements from other masses or composing new music for the Credo and Agnus Dei through the use of parody or elaboration of period sketches by Mozart. Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs just offers a complete Credo and an Agnus Dei. For the Credo this means a completions of the 'Credo in unum Deum' and the 'Et incarnatus est' and additional music for the rest of the Credo. This edition, therefore, is intended to be used in combination with any other version of the Mass. Robert Xavier Rodriguez has also completed the Agnus Dei.
Mozart later reused the music from the Kyrie and Gloria, almost without changes except for the text, in the cantata Davide penitente, K. 469. For the cantata Mozart added two new arias and a cadenza for the fugue concluding the work.

Structure

The orchestra consists of 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, organ, and strings.

Influence

The work embodies pomp and solemnity associated with the Salzburg traditions of the time, but it also anticipates the symphonic masses of Joseph Haydn in its solo-choral sharing. The mass shows the influence of Bach and Handel, whose music Mozart was studying at this time.
On 20 August 2016 the version reconstructed by Helmut Eder was performed at the Royal Albert Hall, for the first time as part of The Proms series, by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Chorus, with Ilan Volkov conducting and featuring Louise Alder, Carolyn Sampson, Benjamin Hulett and Matthew Rose.

Discography