Missa Cellensis
The Missa Cellensis in C major (Hob. XXII:8, originally Missa Cellensis Fatta per il Signor Liebe de Kreutzner) is Joseph Haydn's eighth setting of the mass. In German it is regularly named Mariazellermesse. It was composed in 1782 and is Haydn's last setting of the mass before his six late great masses. Haydn dedicated this work to the pilgrimage of Mariazell in Styria, as he had done with his earlier Missa Cellensis in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae which was composed in 1766–1773. The Mass was commissioned by the officer Anton Liebe von Kreutzner on the occasion of his ennoblement.
Compared to Haydn's late masses, the structure of the Missa Cellensis is rather traditional: fugues at the ends of the Gloria, Credo and Agnus Dei, solo passages in the Gloria and Credo, and a solistic Benedictus. On the other hand, Haydn included many innovations, such as the slow symphonic introduction at the beginning of the Kyrie, where the setting is built on the low voices of the choir and orchestra. The fugues are very rhythmic and snycopated, the solo passages appear very theatrical. This mass may therefore be considered a missing link between Haydn's early and late masses.
Scoring
- Soloists (SATB)
- Choir (SATB)
- 2 Oboes, Bassoons, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, Violins I and II, Viola, Cello, Double bass, Organ
Compositional sections
A typical performance lasts ca. 45 minutes.
References
- Susanne Kraft-Blachny: Missa Cellensis [C-Dur] Fatta per il Signor Liebe de Kreutzner, »Mariazeller Messe« Komponiert für Herrn Liebe de Kreutzner Hob. XXII:8. In: Silke Leopold, Ullrich Scheideler: Oratorienführer. Metzler, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-476-00977-7, S. 319 f.
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