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Mass in D major (Dvořák)

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Mass in D majory
Lužany Mass
by Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvořák
CatalogueB. 153 and 175
OpusOp. 86
Textmass ordinary
LanguageLatin
Composed1887 (1887)
Performed11 September 1887 (1887-09-11): Schloss Lužany
Published1892 (1892)
Movementssix
VocalSATB choir and soloists
Instrumental
  • organ or orchestra

The Mass in D major (Messe D-Dur), Op. 86, is a mass composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1887. It is also called Lužanská mše (Lužany Mass) after Schloss Lužany [de] for which it was written. It was first a work for soloists, choir and organ (B 153), and expanded to an orchestra version in 1892 (B 175).

History

Chapel of Schloss Lužany

Antonín Dvořák was commissioned to compose a mass by the architect and patron Josef Hlávka for the inauguration of the chapel that he had built for Schloss Lužany [de], his summer residence.[1] Due to the size of the chapel, the choir had to be small, and no orchestra was possible. Dvořák composed the work from 23 March and 17 June 1887.[1] On the day of completion, he wrote to Hlávka:

Sehr geehrter Herr Rat und lieber Freund! Ich habe die Ehre, Ihnen mitzuteilen, dass ich die Arbeit (die Messe D-Dur) glücklich beendet habe und dass ich große Freude daran habe. Ich denke, es ist ein Werk, das seinen Zweck erfüllen wird. Es könnte heißen: Glaube, Hoffnung und Liebe zu Gott dem Allmächtigen und Dank für die große Gabe, die mir gestattete, dieses Werk zum Preis des Allerhöchsten und zur Ehre unserer Kunst glücklich zu beenden. Wundern Sie sich nicht, dass ich so gläubig bin – aber ein Künstler, der es nicht ist, bringt nichts solches zustande. Haben wir denn nicht Beispiele an Beethoven, Bach, Raffael und vielen anderen? Schließlich danke ich auch Ihnen, dass Sie mir die Anregung gaben, ein Werk in dieser Form zu schreiben, denn sonst hätte ich kaum je daran gedacht; bisher schrieb ich Werke dieser Art nur in großem Ausmaße und mit großen Mitteln. Diesmal aber schrieb ich nur mit bescheidenen Hilfsmitteln, und doch wage ich zu behaupten, dass mir die Arbeit gelungen ist.

He expressed that he was satisfied with the work for modest forces, which he thought could be subtitled Faith, Hope and Love ("Glaube, Hoffnung und Liebe"), and be understood as giving thanks to God. He mentioned other artists he regarded as motivated by Christian faith: Beethoven, Bach and Raphael.

The mass was first performed at the chapel on 11 September 1887, conducted by the composer. Zdenka Hlávka, the architect's wife, and Dvořák's wife Anna were among the soloists.[1] The first public performance was on 15 April 1888 at the municipal theatre of Plzeň, now with an ensemble of two harmoniums, cello and two double basses, but this instrumentation is lost, and it is unclear if the composer arranged it.

The mass is numbered Op. 76 in the autograph, but his publisher Fritz Simrock gave this number to the Fifth Symphony. Simrock was not interested in the mass. It was published in 1893 by Novello in London as Op. 86, with an orchestration by the composer. This version was first performed on 11 March 1893 at the London Crystal Palace, conducted by August Manns.[1] The organ version was published by R. Carl in Saarbücken in 1963.[1]

Scoring

Organ version (1887):

Orchestral version (1892):

Structure

The work is structure as the mass text prescribes, with most parts performed by both soloists and choir. It takes about 40 minutes to perform.[1]

1. Kyrie (Andante con moto) 2. Gloria (Allegro vivace) 3. Credo (Allegro ma non troppo) 4. Sanctus (Allegro maestoso) 5. Benedictus (Lento) 6. Agnus Dei (Andante)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mass in D major ("The Luzany Mass")". antonin-dvorak.cz. Retrieved 20 February 2022.

Further reading

  • Lucinde Braun: Mše D-Dur / Messe in D-Dur Opus 86. In: Silke Leopold, Ullrich Scheideler [de]: Oratorienführer. Metzler, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-476-00977-7, pp. 193–194.
  • Jarmil Burghauser (ed.): Mše D-Dur. (score organ version] (= Antonín Dvořák Complete works vol. 2,7). Supraphon, Prague 1970.
  • Jarmil Burghauser (ed.): Mše D-Dur. (score orchestral version] (= Antonín Dvořák Complete works vol. 2,8). Supraphon, Prague 1970.
  • Klaus Burmeister (ed.): Dvořák. Messe D-Dur. (orgen version using the piano redaction of the orchestral version (= Edition Peters 8765). C. F. Peters, Frankfurt 1996, ISMN 979-0-014-10259-3.
  • Joseph Paul Koestner: An analysis for performance of Dvořák’s Mass in D. (dissertation). Bloomington 1976, OCLC 30913014.
  • Dirk Möller: Messe D-Dur op. 86. In: Hans Gebhard [de] (ed.): Harenberg Chormusikführer. 2nd edition. Harenberg, Dortmund 2001, ISBN 3-611-00817-6, pp. 265–266.
  • Alois Maria Müller (ed.): Antonín Dvořák: Messe in D-dur op. 76. Für die kirchenmusikalische Praxis bearbeitet. Partitur. Robert Carl, Saarbrücken 1963.
  • Kurt Pahlen: Oratorien der Welt. Heyne, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-453-00923-1, pp. 167.
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