Mozart's Masses. No.

XII
Source: The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 6, No. 122 (Apr. 15, 1854), pp.
19-22
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3370483
Accessed: 19-06-2017 05:48 UTC

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Musical Times and Singing Class Circular

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 THE MUSICAL TIMES. 19

T TE Mus C c A TL m T I M E S, and musicians, and nothing fitter for the occasion

TH E~ M USICAL I 1could be wished. Mozart did not wish miscel-
alu1j jtn5itgt tg la (EltUicltar. laneous hearers to hesitate in their impressions of
APRIL 1ath, 1854. this part of his work, but that it should strike at
APRI1h854 once: hence its fitness for dramatic purposes.
........- --.- . ..-- - . ......... I t has been remarked that the trumpets are silent
fusirtt in thii tlumbberv in the opening bars, though the introduction in.
THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC, tones the natural notes of their scale. By this
Composed by C. A. MACIRONE. reservation, however, the passage is saved from a
certain vulgarity which would have ensued, had
too much been done; and the effect in the first
MOZART S MASSES. burst of choral harmony-"In excelsis Deo
No. XII. gloria"-is enhanced. What follows is a passage
Contributed by E. HOLMES. of mere effect, consisting almost entirely of repe-
THE Gloria divided into four movements, when tition: it is prolonged for eighteen bars; and then,
considered in reference to the age in which it was after the powerfl
produced, and to the claims of priority of dis- after the powerful unison, -
covery in the invention of choral and instrumental Et in ter -ra
effects, possesses higher interest than the musi- Mozart introduces, for better hearers, this unc
cian, at a hasty glance, might be inclined to sup- molly elegant and characteristic phrase, in w
pose. Among these effects we must enumerate the real author will be instantly recognize
the crescendo of the great orchestra, by studied iini -
degrees bringing voices and instruments to a all va. 4 1 rt t ~ i t
climax of fortissimo-an effect peculiarly mo- -F- - -
dern, and which has since been found equally Soprano.
good or even better reversed;-the coda, or tail- Alto, i r .
piece of a few bars, unconnected with what has P
gone before, and added solely with a view to a Tenor.
brilliant conclusion ;-the unison redoubled over Bass. [ r-
three octaves, in voices and instruments; and the Pax, P,
same unison exemplified in syncopated passages i _ _ -:--'*
of melody, as we still hear them in the finale of ;j _Fr-7f 4 -
the modern Italian opera. Such are the salient
points of novelty which communicate historical _---__ f --,
importance to the Gloria of the Twelfth Mass. ... E =-
Effective and agreeable as the music still is, it must I r r "
in its day have opened a marvellous prospect of ___ J- __ 1_t
the future glories of the orchestra; and yet the --"'*-L.
plan of the composition which proposes to pro- ax ho - mi - i - bus
duce a grand effect by the most simple means, Not only do the short notes of the voices accom-
and therefore does not employ the composer's panying piano produce a beautiful and unusual
usual resources of harmony and modulation, effect, but they afford an opening for the fine
shows Mozart accomplishing a musical design, holding notes of the wind instruments. It is in
which is in complete symmetry and consistency creating such opportunities that the master shows
with itself, with as much facility and success in a his skill, and in filling them up the most passion-
new style as if he had used in it only his passages ate impulses of his pen--his work is to him
of predilection and. favored regard. manifest enjoyment.
Reserved for a grand effect, and in contrast The regular and skilfully prepared crescendo
with the soft melodious Kyrie, we have the Gloria which is afterwards introduced twice, must have
in C, Allegro moderato the orchestra re- certainly been unusual in its day; not any other
inforced by horns, trumpets, and drums. The of Mozart's Masses, and no Opera ofthe same date,
successive notes of the common chord extending with which we are acquainted, exhibiting that
in unison from the key-note to the tenth, form a great effect of the modern orchestra in a point of
subject of great simplicity; but yet, delivered by so much stress and importance. If church music
a good choir, they sound so grand and jubilant, could have dispensed with the crescendo-this
that, when years ago, under the Kemble manage- effect and its opposite, the decrescendo, have
ment, the gorgeous cathedral coronation scene of certainly been the life and soul of the musical
Charles X, at Paris, was represented at Covent- drama, and of all symphony, orchestral, and quar-
garden Theatre, this music to accompany it was tet music. They have given expression to melody,
adopted by common consent of both managers Iand a new charm to harmonic combinations;

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22
22 THE MUSICAL THE MUSICAL TIMES.
TIMES.

the
a composition so strongly marked by its age as s
this. We are carried back to the time of Artax-
depr
erxes and Dr. Arne, in a symphony ending with
sione
this formula of notes-the old and approved
not
method of coming to a cadence:-
close
whic
to hear:

Ob. 1.
Vio. limo Vio. 1.
Ob. 2, xb- --
It is seldom that Mozart has such th
vioe.
VioleI-.. I2. , - swer for. Then, as if some friendly b
and patron of his was to be present
formance of the Mass, Mozart provid
Fagotti.
Bassi.
to remind him of the musical charms o
a passage of Rosalia:-
Tu solus sane - - tus
1:n'
ovrallo. * " o. a - % - .I r ,- I
Alto.

Tu solus sane - - tus

Tenor. - I , N J.N I
Bass. -@ - I _ 0_-
Tu so - lus

This phrase is repeated three times, ending with

At the third and last entrance of the chorus the
a cadence a note higher till it reaches E minor.
composer curtails what had been before The
heard,
composer then returns to G, by descending
and substitutes a coda of ten bars on the dominant
gradations, in a manner purely his own, so beau-
harmony of F minor, but avoids a cadence in that
tiful and expressive as to form an instructive
key by taking a diminished 7th on B natural.
contrast to a progression which carries in it the
The Miserere, which is sung tutti piano, subsides
seeds of old age and decay:
into a splendid effect of pianissimo. Nothing Quo-ni- am tu so- ns, tu
can be more religious, solemn, and affecting than
Soprano. - N
Alto.
the conclusion, breathed out by an accomplished o4=
Tenor.
choir-
so- - usA1l -
mise- re - re no - - - bis,
Soprano.
Alto.

Tenor. - - tis -si -mus tu so -

Bass.

r mi - se - re - re"'no -This passage was certainly liked by its comp

- bis,
we may see it in his accompaniment for the f
-'-
In the next movement, Quoniam, in G -, the
music can scarcely be said to beginviolins,
with the,, <_
in-_ ; an octave feature
troductory symphony; the chords struck on the
violins merely arouse attention by peculiar to his scores, when in the most luxurious
announcing
vein of
that something is about to take place. Thecomposition.
voice
parts, consisting of solo, quartet, andThechorus, are
conclusion for solo voices is also striking-
florid, pretty, and elegant; and relieve, by the
contrast of a light and cheerful style, the solem-
nity of the " Qui tollis." Were it not for the me-
<f rf i- -F
Je - su Chris - te,
lodious and elegant effect of the quartet of voices
Cherubini,
and the delicacy of the instrumentation, the cha- in the "Et incarnatus" of his Mass
in F, and
racter of this music would be common; the bass Beethoven, in the slow movement of
and tenor solos, which open the two hisdivisions
Symphonyof in C minor, have improved on
the movement, have this tendency; hints here
butgiven
the for the rise and fall of simple
melody.
popular in style is still combined with matter for
the refined hearer. The history of melody and
(To be continued.)
of instrumental effect might be well illustrated by

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