Mozart's Masses. Nos. III.

IV
Source: The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 5, No. 103 (Dec. 1, 1852), pp.
101-102+107-108
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3369966
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 THE MUSICAL TIMES. 101

THE MUSICAL TIMES, originally introduced by the first violin as a mere

melody in the introductory symphony. Mozart
al in* tingng QClao Eitrcutar.
had evidently more than the gratification of the
, ear in view; he
With which is incorporated "THE MUSICAL was giving the signal to an ac-
iVI:W."
DECEMBER 1st, 1852. complished audience, and they might anticipate
him if they could. Melodious counterpoint pre-
dominates in this Kyrie, and the modulation
MOZART'S MASSES. leading about the middle to a close in the do-
Nos. III. IV. minant, admits of some of the most ingenious
Contributed by E. HOLMES. passages being heard twice-both in the dominant
and tonic. The following is a very ingenious,
THE origin of the Mass in F, No. 3, is left to
neat, and melodious dispersion of the harmony
conjecture; no trace of it appearing inofthe cata- in a canonical form:
the seventh
logue of Andre, or in that of Mozart himself.
Our English copy was prepared by Mr. Novello,
from a MS. score which the Rev. Mr. Latrobe
had procured in the course of his travels in Ger.
many, and kindly presented to the editor in aid
of his publication. At this time, we believe, no
printed score was obtainable, and in passing
through Mr. Novello's hands the work received
several important corrections, not only of tran- E-lei - son, E-lei - son.
scribers' errors of notation, but in directions for
In such passages as these, where nothing
changes of the time, which had been overlooked. torted or forced for the sake of a close imi
We therefore possess this work probably in abut in which counterpoint is displayed i
completer state than the Germans themselves. nection with the most agreeable and n
From the internal evidence afforded by the
melody, the entire Mass abounds. The fr
Third Mass-which is quite peculiar, and differs independence of the vocal bass, which is o
in plan and style from all other productions of inner part and distinct from the instrumenta
the Composer-we should say that it is the fruit gives a peculiarity to this Mass in augmenti
of one of his Italian journies,-consequently, that fulness of the counterpoint, and increasin
it was written in his youth; and most probably interest of its scientific structure.
for some monastery, in which there was a good
The motion of the second violin accompa
choir of singers, and some musicians who appre-
ciated fine counterpoint and the learned forms of the solos, is still modern.
music as well as elegant melody, but where the
materials of a large orchestra were wanting. The Mozart, we find, however he mi
original work has no wind instruments, and the style of elder classical pens, with
four-voice parts are accompanied simply by two for their excellence, never descend
violins, bass, and organ. The part of this last vile imitation, but so blended the
instrument is, however, very carefully figured, old as to preserve the legitimate
and it is employed continually in the symphonies, composition even in those pieces in
to fill up the harmony and supply the want of fessedly relinquished his own ma
wind instruments. With less of symphonic andhis best instrumental works are imi
orchestral effect than the Salzburg Masses, there del and Bach; and of the Italian vo
is in the Mass in F a greater abundance of flowing who lived early in his own century
counterpoint in the voice parts, and a neatness inof his musical paintings might p
their canonical structure and close imitations,but he imitated none of them wit
which gratifies alike the eye and ear, and renders fusion of himself. Notwithstand
these parts worthy of the most patient investi- elegance of the Kyrie, the stamp o
gation of the musical student. of music is more discernible in it t
The melody of the Kyrie is in the Italian taste,of the movements.
which was modern when Jomelli was at his zenith, The Gloria, Allegro |, leads off
and formed the standard of elegance. To hearers canto-fermo for the soprani, accom
of the present day, the first bars of the symphony,struments, and the effect of this b
considered merely as a symphony, may appear ofvoices must always prove imposin
a style somewhat antiquated; but as an announce- modes in which this principal subjec
ment of subjects of counterpoint they have higher -its appearance in all the parts, wi
interest. paniments each time, till it finally
In the phrase of melody of the fourth bar we energetic form in the unison and
find a counterpoint to the fugal subject, which is the prolific resources of the com

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102 THE MUSICAL TIMES.
1()2

passages of the quartett are modern and elegant; without the distinguishing characteris
and there is a youthful fire in some of the points zart. The Hosanna is a light and e
which Mozart, in spite of his attempt to indue pretty fugue, beginning in the sopr
the peruke, could not wholly suppress. The having some correspondence in its passag
commencement of 'Suscipe deprecationem,' in that original chorus in the Messiah,' H
A minor, is an instance. easy.' There is a graceful and attractive move-
Mr. Novello has increased the spirited effect ment of the parts in the Benedictus, which is else
of the concluding 'Cum Sancto,' by quickening constructed on the most unpretending and simple
the time, and has brought the composition to a model.
close with the full energy of Mozart. So ex- The'Agnus Dei,' Adagio, in D minor, has a
tremely well written for the voices is this work, sublime elevation of style, and contains some ideas
that in turning our eyes from the full score to which Mozart used throughout his life. At the
that with the organ accompaniment we are sur- close of the soprano solo we find this progression
prised to find how little is lost. Indeed, with the to F from the dominant of D minor-
organ part drawn out, the ideas seem to expand a modulation which
and acquire a character of grandeur. 9 is to be observed in
The Credo, which is undoubtedly the finest - | d1is te gr
portion of this Mass, exhibits the varied style of ei-'k ~ 1
the composer in perfection. Of this, the leading e in the Zauberflote,
subject is choral, and we have the progression of _- i as well as in the
its melody in the Sanctus of No. 2, in the fugue ' Dies Irae' of the
of the Jupiter symphony, in Bach's fugue inE, &c. Requiem-two of the latest works of th
A tune which seems to have haunted fugal heads poser. Other things claim notice in this
from the time of the Gregorian chant, is here pre- movement. The symphony performed
sented, not in its antique dress, but clothed in first violins is repeated in the identical n
modern harmony, and embellished with modern the accompaniment to the voice; yet both
contrasts of light and shade; while dramatic de- fit one into the other with a marvellous a
clamation, the peculiar chords of Mozart and his and facility. Cadences of the solo voices
melody, attend and lend their charm to the sub- cessively introduce the chorus, and this cl
ject through all the harmonic mazes-and they all times in the most unexpected way-the
are long-in which it pleases the Composer to bar of the Miserere is in F, the second in F m
pursue it. This Credo, which displays the finest in the third we are in G minor, and exp
choral expression, by turns the majestic, the cadence in the key; but no-this is th
solemn, the spirited-for the same theme is clusion:-
wrought into each of these characters by changes
of time and key-is one of the finest examples of ,
the development of a musical phrase of four notes 1 f -
that can be referred to throughout the whole r I -
course of the art. The little fugue,' Et vitam,' 'J
sounds well even though the florid passages of LtI_t i
the violins are entirely omitted; and when coun- r
terpoint has done its utmost, the ear reposes with
delight on the first subject. delivered by voices At last, Mozart indulges us wth the a I

alone
alone in its in its unadorned
unadorned simplicitclose
simplicity:-- in G. minor-but
. .. ..~, . .. ,r~ ....; not till after two
.... ....;.
yiiiplluuyl. xiuc sainc Lt iUUiaLtUJI uVCutlr alialll
with higher effect from the opposition of a remoter
key, and leading us to D instead of E minor,
These startling passages have never been imitated
in music. It is, indeed, useless in composers to
repeat what has been already done; yet such in-
ventions, though half a century old, still excite
the imagination and animate the search after new
It is pleasant to trace the predilectionsdiscoveries.
of com- In every age the true composer has
the same
posers in their works, and this phrase recalls in aarduous task. The musical designs-
lively manner what Mozart has done with it for
the combinations of melody and harmony, which
the church and concert-room. He unwillinglymake a permanent impression on the soul, are
quits for an instant the scientific form ever
which alikehe remote, shadowy, and difficult to
had proposed to himself in this Credo, and The
realize. in ' Dona nobis '* of the third Mass is
some of the soli parts both voices and instru-
ments may be perceived to move in canon. * It will be found adapted to English words in the Musical
The Sanctus possesses a conventional Times,
grandeur
No. 35, ' Grant O Lord.'

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 THE MUSICAL TIMES.
THE MUSICAL TIMES.
107
107

Continued from page

movement
a little
tuneful
modulatiog
that once heard
modern it
s
length
Altogether, of
this
as well from
as a the
pecu
the long chor
orchestral ac
First orenergetic,
Second M
style, activity
more o
scient
point, Motett
and has S
a
voices. twenty,
The melod M
his a
progressions, fine cho
whole florid
compositio acc
Italian tini
church was com a
able; and able we motio
I

are l
I

musicalThe Credopowershas a noble Et Incamratus,' com- w

themselves in tur
I

pressing into ten bars thoughts, which, to admire

nation of Europe.
sufficiently, demand much wider limits. The
The Fourth
short tenor solo, in A minor,Massis followed by a
I

of Andre's
quartett of voices, whichmanus
begin the ' Crucifixus'
ten in Mozart's
sotto voce, on the dominant of F minor. The h
clarini eat every
ear is deceived tympchord of the mysterious
Wolfg. Mozart,
harmony-the bass moves upwards in semitones-
L
The composer has
at length, when the listener scarcely knows whither
his list he isof
going, the chorusthe ac
enters on ' Passus,' with
Mass r
was an interval of the diminished fourth from F1 to
compos
than I
No. 2,
Bbi, and makes the final cadenceand
in G minor.
perhapsThe major
to ending isothers
marked in the organ part,I71

month. r
but noBy third appears inthe the voices. An effect ef
the young more solemn, dramatic, compo
and imposing, cannot be
self in aimagined.% goodWe remember the effect of app it long
There are since at the Portuguese circumChapel in South-street,
nected sung
withby an admirable quartett, Mrs. thesH. B. Hunt,
could be Evans, Gattie,
known,and F. Novello, and accompanied
:h
I

interest 9
i judiciouslywhich
with the pedal pipes of the organ by lo
music over
8
3 Mr. Novello. We seem to and miss in public per- a
incited rformances at present, that fine art of blending
r
to please i
I I voices, which was so well cultivated formerly-
and acquirement
r rthere is, in general, too much effort to be pro-
like to know, for
if F minent. The Sanctus and Hosanna of this
he designed the
canon, ,four
Mass are not particularly in ;I remarkable. The on Be-
which r
occursr nedictus is singular, being choral, in and Allegroth 4,
Eberlin Li
I with oran accompaniment Adlgas of triplets on the stringed
visitors , instruments.
were Its originality of construction to is its
e a chief claim to consideration.
remembering how
task in y Y The the close of the Mass,last No. 4, is an exquisite c
meant to try his 'Dona nobis h
't
t study of vocal effect, and the words
was always s pacem' have possibly never consid been so correctly or
Is

well as effectively what set. Mozart appears torem

I-

have composed
randa in
n
n this Agnus hisDei, in one of the trave
happiest moods of
in music, 9 his genius. The and return to the key he of C from E c
b
the Messiah 1 by one intervening chord- in En
the remarkable .1
A
nobis,' was found
* The accompanying of the chromatic scale in the bass has
respondent t
of
always been a favourite exercise of composers, th
and there is a
knowingSi
that
splendid example of it at the close of the firstthe
movement of
Beethoven's Symphony in D, No. 2. In the slow movement of
actually Mozart'sclaimed
Pianoforte Quintett in Eb1, we find a passage of the same it
Over h sort-a succession of harmoniesabove
and of the diminished seventh moving
upwards, and with the resolution suspended till the last chord,
appears1-
twice
which introduces a magnificent pedal point. No one whoinhas heard t
those thrilling chords can forget them. This was Mozart's way of
struction
e
in the
compelling attention, and of setting off his most tasteful melodies v
symmetry
s and passages, in th

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 108 THE MUSICAL TIMES.

j>
j> jj44| I| iI recalls
i recalls
one one
of the he begs
ofhap-
the hap- to avail himself of the opportunity which an
allusion to this matter presents, of expressing his desire
==
== piest
pieststrokes
strokes
of modu-
of modu-
that his incognito should still be preserved. He has no
1
1 ttl llation
lation
in in
DonDon
Giovanni,
Giovanni,
wish to shrink from any of his statements-on the contrary,
d[_~:__~
d[_~:__~ ~introducing
~introducing
the solo
the solo to maintain his position on every occasion
he is prepared
______i____
______i____ 'Discendi
'Discendi
o giojao bella,'
gioja bella,'
wherein his motive may be questioned. And he feels
<,
<, -t-
-t-~~~~
t~ t~
in in
thethe
trio trio
'Ah taci.'
'Ah
that taci.'
those gentlemen who have so kindly desired the
abandonment of his incognito, will hold him excused in
The
Theidea
ideawas
wasin the
in the
MassMass
half developed-on
half developed-on
not now complying with their request.
referring
referring to to
thethe
Opera
Opera
we find
we it
find
much itmore
much more
Having said so much for the musical art, and against
elegantly
elegantly done,
done,
so that
so that
precocious
precocious
as the Com-
as the
the Com-
manner iu which its professors are remunerated, we
poser
poserwas,
was,he he
hadhad
not not
passed
passed
over fifteen
over fifteen
years
must notyears
quit the subject without adverting, as proposed
of
of life
lifeunimproved.
unimproved. The Litanies,
The Litanies,
Motets,Motets,
Offer-
at the Offer-
commencement of our article, to their shortcomings.
tories,
tories,&c.,
&c.,which
which
belong
belong
to theto
era
the We of
of these
era havethese
heard it admitted by musical professors them-
selves, that no community of men is so utterly helpless as
Masses,
Masses,wewe
cancan
hardly
hardly
speakspeak
of at present,
of at present,
but but
a body of musicians thrown upon its own resources. They
must
mustreserve
reservethem
them
for another
for another
time. time.
invariably select one man from amongst them upon whose
To be continued. judgment they are content to rest,-upon whose advice they
place the most implicit reliance; the success of their cause,
therefore, mainly depends upon the moral character-the
IMUSIC AND ITS PROFESSORS.-THE MUSICAL honesty and independence-of its leader. That this is the
INSTITUTE OF LONDON. case, few will deny-none indeed, who, like the writer, has
had experience in such matters. Nor must it be denied
WE have no intention of rendering the professors
that of theare otherwise an educated body of men: it
musicians
musical art discontented with their share of the world's
too often happens that the time which should have been
good things-nor are we at all inclined to stand forward
devoted to the purposes of a general education is absorbed
as the apologist of their short-comings; butinthe thought
acquiring a knowledge of the art to which their life is
has often troubled us, that the professor oftomusic is butyet this does not altogether remove the
be dedicated;
poorly remunerated for the attainment andrebuke
practice of a
which confessedly attaches itself to the musician's
difficult and, we may add, laborious art. Rich men of
craft. The absorbing nature of his studies-the pleasure
other artistic and scientific professions are numerous. The
which proficiency brings,-have each been urged in pal-
painter, the engraver, the sculptor,-even the actor,-each
liation; yet we can find little excuse for the neglect of
receive a remuneration higher in rate than that achieved
that, without which proficiency in any art or science can
by the musician; unfortunately for whom, no fields of gold
never be brought conspicuously before the public, or be
are seen to glitter in a distant land-no El Dorado stands
made permanently to keep its place in public estimation.
inviting his approach: here in the land of his birth-or in
We cannot, therefore, too strongly impress upon the minds
that across the Atlantic--must he eat his daily bread, or
not eat it at all. of our young musicians, that while prosecuting their
musical studies, they are imperatively required to improve
It has been truly said that Art in England is but coldly
opportunities of enlarging their acquaintance not only with
supported--many aching hearts lie hidden beneath her
that branch of education which alone qualifies a musical
beautiful mantle. The painter's life, indeed, is one of toil-
man successfully to pursue his avocations, but also with the
he lives, and barely lives, in many instances-to build a
more polite accomplishments, which ensure a position to
monument to his memory, and to afford profitable specu-
all who possess them. In the recapitulation of these de-
lation to those who have no feelings in common with ficiences
his in the education of the musician, we abstain
own. This fact requires no illustration. But even the
emphatically from applying our remarks to all the members
solace of this posthumous compliment is denied to the
of the profession: we are personally acquainted with many
musician-he has his day, and is then " clean forgotten."
Of course, there are instances wherein the fame of whoa are qualified by education and by feeling for the
highest society. Still they are the exceptions, and not
musician outlives him; but then the probation to it isrule.
the
more difficult-the road to greatness in his career is An advantage to voung musicians, and indeed to the
rougher, and requires more study than the other scientific
profession at large, will be found in the recent establish-
professions; for at the end of the life of the most studious
ment of the "Musical Institute of London," supported as
and intelligent musician, he has not accomplished half his
it is by all the principal members of the musical profession.
mission-such are the intricacies of his art. Very few of
The purpose in the foundation of this new association is to
those who have studied diligently for the profession, and
facilitate the cultivation of the art and science of music;
practised it through a long life, have achieved anything to form a library of music, and of literature connected with
like a comfortable independence! Did we need support it: objects the importance of which cannot admit of a
for our position, we should refer to the distinguished
doubt. At the preliminary meeting of the members, it
names upon the books of our benevolent musical institu-
was agreed " That the operations of the Musical Institute
tions: we should appeal to the destitution in which many
of London should consist in the formation of a library of
professors of music are at the present moment to be found.
music, and musical literature, and a museum, and the for-
Between the position of the painter and the sculptor,
mation of a reading room, in the holding of conversazioni,
and that of the musician, there is this striking difference-
the two former, when they do become known, for are the reading of papers on musical subjects, and the per-
formance of music in illustration; and in the publication
amply rewarded for all their labour, their anxiety, and the
of transactions."
display of their genius;-the latter, even when he attains
the front rank of his profession, becomes entitled to the We have here incidentally alludedto the commencement
of this
organist's pittance (as a part of his reward) of about twenty < project: in a future paper we shall bring its objects
pounds a year, and a deduction for tuning an organ which and transactions
l more prominently before the musical
does not belong to him. We adverted to this subjectpublic. last Our allusion to it now is to enforce upon musical
month, and the writer has had the satisfaction to receive professors
I the necessity which exists for the establishment
the thanks and compliments of some of those whose cause of an association having in view the purposes proposed to
he so feebly advocated; and although in the communi- be accomplished by the Musical Institute of London.
cations addressed to him his identity is speculated upon, VERNON.

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