Mass in B minor. Bach's Mass in B minor Mass in B minor history of creation

Cast: soprano I, soprano II, alto, tenor, bass, two choirs, orchestra.

Bach created the Mass in B minor over many years. The distant prototype of Sanctus, according to researchers, dates back to 1724. The composer made the last amendments to the score right up to the day when he became completely blind in 1750.

The genre of the Mass has historically developed in the form of a five-part work, consisting of a prayer for forgiveness (Kyrie), a hymn of praise and thanksgiving (Gloria), a dogmatic part - a creed (Credo), a liturgical climax taken from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah (Sanctus), and a conclusion, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ (Agnus Dei). At first the text of the mass was read, later it began to be sung. For some time, both of these forms coexisted, but by the 14th century a single musical form had finally emerged. Bach's Mass in B minor is incredibly large compared to the traditional ones. It also contains five parts - Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei - but these are in turn divided into several separate numbers.

The 1st part consists of Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy), Christe eleison (Christ, have mercy) and Kyrie eleison II.

Part 2 contains eight numbers: Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the highest), Laudamus te (We praise You), Gratias (Thank You), Domine deus (Lord God), Qui tollis peccata mundi (Bearer of the sins of the world), Qui sedes ad dextram Patris (Seated at the right hand of the Father), Quoniam tu solus sanctus (And You alone are holy), Cum sancto spiritu (With the Holy Spirit).

The 3rd part includes Credo in unum Deum (I believe in one God), Patrem omnipotentem (Father Almighty), Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum (And in one Lord Jesus Christ), Et incarnatus est (And incarnate), Crucifixus etiam pro nobis (Crucified for us), Et resurrexit tertia die (Not (And rose again on the third day), Et in spiritum sanctum (And in the Holy Spirit), Confiteor unum baptista (I confess one baptism).

In the 4th part there are three numbers - Sanctus Dominus Deos (Holy Lord God), Osanna (Help us), Benedictus (Blessed).

The 5th movement consists of two numbers: Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and Dona nobis pacem (Give us peace).

The Mass in B minor is a grandiose creation that the composer worked on for decades. Approximately two-thirds of it consists of previously written music, but it is a single composition. The first part of the mass, initially as an independent work, was completed by the composer in 1733, but the date of its first performance is unknown. There is information about the first performance of Sanctus on December 25, 1724, Kyrie and Gloria on April 21, 1733 in Leipzig, as well as a mention of the performance of the mass in 1734. There is evidence that the 2nd and 3rd parts were created from August 1748 to October 1749, after which the entire score, which included the Mass of 1733 as the 1st part, and the Sanctus as the 4th part , was put together. Unfortunately, there is no data on its performance during the composer's lifetime.

Music

The H-minor Mass is a work of the greatest philosophical wisdom, humanity, and depth of feeling. Her images - suffering, death, sorrow, and at the same time - hope, joy, jubilation - amaze with their depth and strength.

The 1st movement, Kyrie, consisting of three numbers, opens with a somber choral sound, after which a fugue begins, first in an orchestral sound. Its mournful theme, as if writhing in agony, is full of the deepest expressiveness. At the beginning of the 2nd movement, Gloria (No. 4), trumpets sound joyfully and lightly. The choir takes up the jubilant theme, proclaiming glory. Wide, sing-song melodies dominate here. Particularly notable is No. 5, Laudamus - a soprano aria accompanied by solo violin, as if one of the voices of the choir had burst forth with its lyrical song. In the 3rd part, Credo (No. 12-19), dramatic contrasts dominate. In No. 12, Credo in unum Deum - the wide, strict melody of the Gregorian chant runs sequentially (in imitation) in all the voices of the choir against the backdrop of the solemn and measured movement of the orchestral basses. No. 15, Et incarnatus, returns to mournful images. Heavy measured bass notes seem to be pressing down, and the “sighs” of the strings sound pitiful. A simple, strict melody, full of hidden suffering, is intoned by the choir. The voices are layered one on top of the other, creating a rich musical texture. Sorrowful reflection leads to the next number (No. 16), Crucifixus, the tragic culmination of the Mass, the story of the Savior's suffering on the cross. In this heartfelt episode, written in the spirit of the Italian lamento aria, Bach used the passacaglia form. Thirteen times the same melody appears in the bass - a measured, steadily descending dark chromatic progression. Against its background, separate chords of strings and wooden instruments appear, fragmentary replicas of the choir, like sighs and groans. At the end, the melody descends lower and lower, disappears, and, as if exhausted, dies. Everything goes silent. And immediately the sounds of the choir Et resurrexit (No. 17), chanting the Resurrection, the victory of life over death, fill everything with a wide, jubilant stream of light. The combined 4th and 5th movements open with the majestic slow movement of the Sanctus choir (No. 20) with joyful anniversaries in the female voices. The orchestra sounds a fanfare of trumpets and the roll of timpani. No. 23, Agnus Dei - a soulful viola aria with a flexible melody, accompanied by expressive singing of the violins. The final number of the mass, No. 24, Dona nobis pacem, is a solemn hymn in the form of a fugue on two themes, exactly repeating chorus No. 6, Gratias.

L. Mikheeva

Structurally, the Mass in B minor is a series of closed individual numbers. In most of them there is a complex development of one musical image, containing a whole complex of feelings and thoughts. The structural completeness and independence of each choir, aria or duet is combined with the integrity and solidity of the entire composition. The main dramatic principle of the mass is the contrast of images, which continuously deepens from section to section. Not only are the large parts of the Mass contrasted, like the Kyrie eleison and the Gloria, the Credo and the Sanctus; no less sharp, sometimes stunning contrasts are observed within these parts and even within some individual numbers (for example, in “Gloria”).

The more concentrated the grief, the more tragic it reaches, the stronger the rise and the more dazzling the light of the episode that replaces it. For example, in the center of the “Credo”, consisting of eight numbers, there are several related to the image of Jesus: “Et incarnatus”, “Crucifixus”, “Et ressurexit”. Each of the numbers mentioned is completely finished and can be performed separately. But just as it happens in some instrumental cyclic works - sonatas, symphonies - the ideological concept, the dynamics of artistic and poetic images unite all three numbers with a line of internal development. "Et incarnatus" speaks of the birth of a man who will take upon himself the sins of the world; in "Crucifixus" - about the crucifixion and death of Jesus; in "Et ressurexit" - about his resurrection. As always with Bach, the pages dedicated to Jesus, the suffering man, are the most heartfelt and emotionally rich.

The movement of musical images leads to a strong increase in tragic elements. The hopeless grief and feeling of doom in “Et incarnatus” are deepened by the terrible picture of death and human grief in “Crucifixus”. All the more shocking is the dramatic effect produced by the sudden explosion of delight, all-encompassing joy in “Et ressurexit.”

The contrast between death and the all-conquering power of life is the hidden meaning of this peculiar cycle. Various aspects of the same idea form the main content of the entire work.

The B minor Mass crowns Bach's work. It is the B minor Mass that is the work in which the true nature of Bach’s art, complex, powerful and beautiful, was revealed with utmost depth.

V. Galatskaya

Céline Scheen: soprano
. Yetzabel Arias: soprano
. Pascal Bertin: countertenor
. Makoto Sakurada: tenor
. Stephan Macleod: bass

Le Concert des Nations & La Capella Reial de Catalunya

During Bach’s lifetime, it was not performed in its entirety; he sometimes used only the first two movements in Sunday services.

The Mass in B minor is called Bach's philosophical confession, the most complete expression of his attitude to the world. As in the Passions, the composer revealed his ideal of life here, turning to that highest thing in a person that is not subject to time: readiness for moral achievement, for self-sacrifice.

The philosophical content of the Mass was embodied in a monumental, innovative form, significantly expanding the scope of the traditional canon.

As is known, the ritual of the Mass - the central rite of Catholic worship - has evolved over many centuries; Prayer texts were also selected for a long time. In the 11th century, the text of the mass was canonized and enshrined in the following sequence:

Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy");
Gloria ("Glory");
Credo (“I Believe”);
Sanсtus (“Holy”);
Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God").

As a musical form, the mass had developed by the 14th century. And if earlier the melodies of the Gregorian chant were assigned to individual parts, then over time the music acquired independent artistic significance.

Having preserved the main canonized parts, Bach expands their scope by separating each text section into a separate number - there are 24 in total. Each part appears as a strictly thought-out composition. At the level of parts one can observe the action of various factors of unity. This includes the internal grouping of numbers, various thematic arcs, and tonal connections.

In addition, the constant alternation of monumental and chamber plans plays an important unifying role in the dramaturgy of the Mass. The monumental plan is represented by expanded choirs. The Mass owes the grandeur of its scale to them. The second plan, chamber-lyrical, consists of duets, 3 choruses (No. 8, 15, 16) and 6 arias.

In the Mass in B minor, the 2 main figurative worlds of Bach’s music were summarized: the world of suffering, deep sorrow and the world of light, joy, jubilation, and triumph. The repeated comparison of these brightly contrasting spheres form the basis of an effective, truly symphonic development.

The line of end-to-end development of the sphere of grief and suffering begins in Part I - "Kyrie" It is based on the tripartite structure traditional for this section of the mass: 2 mournful choirs on the same text “Kyrie eleison” surround the light duet “Christe eleison”. Both choirs are polyphonic (the first is a 5-voice fugue, the second is a 4-voice).

The first chorus is close to the spirit of the passions, giving rise to the idea of a procession of people suppressed by grief. The theme of the fugue is distinguished by a gloomy minor coloring, an abundance of chromaticisms, tense intervals (tritones, um. 7), emphasizing the “intonation of a sigh,” modal tonal instability (deviation in e-moll), and the predominance of even rhythmic movement at a slow tempo. It combines melodious intonations with declamatory turns.

The second choir “Kyrie” presents a completely different interpretation of the same text - its music does not contain passionate prayer, but ascetic severity. The choir is designed in the spirit of strict polyphony of the 16th century.

The exposition of the second sphere - joy and exultation - is "Gloria"(although No. 2 - the light and serene duet “Christe eleison” - has already partly outlined this line).

The music of the choir “Gloria” (No. 4) is like a hymn of praise. Its theme begins first in the orchestra, in which the festive sonority of the trumpets stands out. Then the choir joins the orchestra with the words “Glory to God in the highest.”

The choir's melody combines fanfare intonations with virtuosic vocalizations, where one syllable of the text is sung into many sounds (this type of melody comes from “anniversaries”). The light and clear movement in 3/8 is reminiscent of the music of Bach's dance suites. This choir echoes its general solemn and triumphal mood with other D major choirs in both the II and IV (Sanсtus) parts of the mass.

Although the second part of the mass is generally kept in festive tones, it continues to develop the line of mourning coming from the Kyrie choirs, in particular in the central number - choir no. 8, "Qui tollis"(“You, who have taken away the sins of the world”) Here the h-minor tonality returns, the music again comes closer in spirit to the passions. However, its character is more touching, elegiac than sorrowful, and the sound is chamber. The main individual feature is the melody of the solo flute, which creates a background for the choral voices.

The main content of Part III ( "Credo") is concentrated in the three middle choirs, where a brief narrative appears about how Christ took on human form (No. 15, "Et incarnates"- “And having become incarnate”), suffered and was crucified (No. 16, "Crucifixus"- “Crucified”), and then rose again (No. 17, "Et resurrexit"- “And rose again”). These three choirs are the ideological and figurative center of the entire work. Choirs No. 15 and 16 are connected by a common content: both continue the mournful line of the mass, with “Crucifiхus” being its peak, the tragic culmination of the mass.

This number can be called a choral lamento. His music embodies the tragic image of the crucifixion, martyrdom, which attracted many painters of the 16th-17th centuries, including German ones (Grunewald, Dürer). In music, variations on basso ostinato were considered the ideal form to embody such content. Bach picks up this tradition. The theme underlying the variations is a segment of the chromatic scale from degree I to V. It is repeated 13 times unchanged, with the harmony changing each time.

The harmonic variations of the orchestra are combined with the polyphonic variations of the choir. From the very beginning there is no continuous voice leading - the voices seem to appear separately, “incoherently”, repeating the same intonation of grief - descending m.2.

The juxtaposition of this choir with the next one, No. 17, forms the most striking contrast within the entire mass. The essence of the contrast is the transition from death to resurrection. "Et resurrexit"- this is the pinnacle in the development of images of jubilation and triumph, and the entire complex of expressive means is aimed at embodying a feeling of all-consuming joy. In the very first bars, the entire orchestra with trumpets enters simultaneously with the choir. The features of festive concert performance (comparisons of different registers, virtuosic brilliance) are undeniable. The character of movement and the rhythm of the polonaise are used. The melody, starting with an energetic ascending fourth, rushes upward uncontrollably, while its structure is symmetrical.

In the 5th, the most laconic part of the mass (only 2 numbers), all strong figurative contrasts recede: it does not contain anything festive, triumphant or acutely tragic. There remains the memory of the tragedy experienced in the viola aria (No. 23, “Agnus Dei” - “Lamb of God”) and the strength of spirit, calm confidence in the final chorus. The choir's music is a repetition of No. 6 "Gratias" ("Give thanks"), but with different words - "Dona nobis pacem" ("Give us peace").

The expression of grief in the aria has a shade of meekness and softness, its main content is peaceful sadness.

The characteristic tonality is not h-moll or e-moll, but g-moll. This key - minor S-ta D-dur - is the connecting link between the images of sorrow (minor) and joy (major).

Cast: soprano I, soprano II, alto, tenor, bass, two choirs, orchestra.

History of creation

“Most Serene Elector, dear sir!
In deep respect I bring to your Royal Highness this humble work of my skill, which I have achieved in music, and I most humbly ask you to look at it with a favorable gaze, not on the merits of the composition itself, which is poorly composed, but on the basis of your mercy, known to the world... “- with these words Bach in 1733 accompanied the sending to the Elector of Saxony Frederick Augustus of two parts of one of his greatest creations - the Mass in h minor - Kyrie and Gloria. A Protestant who served in Protestant Germany, Bach wrote mainly music for performance in Lutheran churches. True, according to Luther’s reform, individual sections of the Mass were allowed in Protestant worship, but it was no accident that Bach wrote the complete Catholic Mass, just as it was no coincidence that he dedicated it to the Saxon Elector. The fact is that Frederick Augustus was also the king of Poland, a country invariably committed to Catholicism, and therefore he himself converted to Catholicism. Since 1717, his court in Dresden became officially Catholic. Hence Bach’s natural appeal to this genre (from Friedrich August he received the title of court composer and in subsequent years, wanting to show his diligence, he sent him several more masses, mainly composed of previously written cantatas).

The 1st part consists of Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy), Christe eleison (Christ, have mercy) and Kyrie eleison II.

In the 4th part there are three numbers - Sanctus Dominus Deos (Holy Lord God), Osanna (Help us), Benedictus (Blessed).

The 5th movement consists of two numbers: Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and Dona nobis pacem (Give us peace).

Music

The 1st movement, Kyrie, consisting of three numbers, opens with a somber choral sound, after which a fugue begins, first in an orchestral sound. Its mournful theme, as if writhing in agony, is full of the deepest expressiveness. At the beginning of the 2nd movement, Gloria (No. 4), trumpets sound joyfully and lightly. The choir takes up the jubilant theme, proclaiming glory. Wide, sing-song melodies dominate here. Particularly notable is No. 5, Laudamus - a soprano aria accompanied by a solo violin, as if one of the voices of the choir had broken out with its lyrical song. In the 3rd part, Credo (No. 12-19), dramatic contrasts dominate. In No. 12, Credo in unum Deum - the wide, strict melody of the Gregorian chant runs sequentially (in imitation) in all the voices of the choir against the backdrop of the solemn and measured movement of the orchestral basses. No. 15, Et incarnatus, returns to mournful images. Heavy measured bass notes seem to be pressing down, and the “sighs” of the strings sound pitiful. A simple, strict melody, full of hidden suffering, is intoned by the choir. The voices are layered one on top of the other, creating a rich musical texture. Sorrowful reflection leads to the next number (No. 16), Crucifixus, the tragic culmination of the Mass, the story of the Savior's suffering on the cross. In this heartfelt episode, written in the spirit of the Italian lamento aria, Bach used the passacaglia form. Thirteen times the same melody appears in the bass - a measured, steadily descending gloomy chromatic progression. Against its background, separate chords of strings and wooden instruments appear, fragmentary replicas of the choir, like sighs and groans. At the end, the melody descends lower and lower, disappears, and, as if exhausted, dies. Everything goes silent. And immediately the sounds of the choir Et resurrexit (No. 17), chanting the Resurrection, the victory of life over death, fill everything with a wide, jubilant stream of light. The combined 4th and 5th movements open with the majestic slow movement of the Sanctus choir (No. 20) with joyful anniversaries in the female voices. The orchestra sounds a fanfare of trumpets and the roll of timpani. No. 23, Agnus Dei - a soulful viola aria with a flexible melody, accompanied by expressive singing of the violins. The final number of the mass, No. 24, Dona nobis pacem, is a solemn hymn in the form of a fugue on two themes, exactly repeating chorus No. 6, Gratias.

L. Mikheeva

Mass is a cycle of hymns selected by the Catholic Church for performance during the day's service. The chants were strictly legalized, sung in Latin and followed in a certain order. Each chant received its name from the first words of the prayer: 1. “Kyrie eleison” (“Lord, have mercy”), 2. “Gloria” (“Glory”), 3. “Credo” (“I Believe”), 4. “Sanctus” (“Holy”), 5. “Benedictus” (“Blessed”), 6. “Agnus Dei” (“Lamb of God”).

Bach worked on the mass for several years - from 1733 to 1738. The Mass in B minor is one of the most majestic creations of world musical culture. The concept of this work is grandiose, the thought in its musical and poetic images is unusually serious and deep. In none of his most magnificent works does Bach achieve such wisdom of philosophical generalizations and such emotional power as in the mass.

With rare artistic freedom, Bach pushes the boundaries established for Catholic ritual music and, dividing each of the parts of the mass into a number of numbers, brings their total number to twenty-four (fifteen choruses, six arias, three duets).

In the Mass, Bach was bound by a religious text and a traditional form, and yet it is impossible to unconditionally classify the B minor Mass as a church work. In practice, this is confirmed by the fact that not only during Bach’s lifetime, but also in subsequent times, the B minor Mass was not performed during services. This was not allowed by the great complexity and significance of the content, the gigantic size and technical difficulties that were beyond the power of an ordinary singer and an average church choir to overcome. The B minor Mass is a concert composition that requires professional performing skills.

Despite the fact that each musical number is based on a prayer text, Bach did not set out to embody the words of the prayer in detail. Short phrases and individually spoken words gave birth in his creative imagination to a whole complex of associative ideas and artistic connections, strong feelings and sensations that could not be recorded. Through music, Bach reveals the inner richness of poetic images, the infinity of shades of human feelings. Two words: “Kyrie eleison” - Bach is enough to create a grandiose five-voice fugue.

Throughout the entire first part, consisting of three independent numbers (five-voice choir No. 1, duet No. 2, four-voice choir No. 3), four words are pronounced: “Kyrie eleison”, “Christe eleison”.

For Bach, the mass turned out to be the genre that, in contemporary conditions, was most suitable for the development of big ideas and deep philosophical images.

The world of human thoughts and aspirations seems immense in the Mass. With equal inspiration, Bach captures images of sorrow, suffering and images of joy and jubilation.

Both are revealed in all their variety of psychological nuances: in the tragic pathos and gloomy concentration of the first and second choruses “Kyrie eleison” (see examples 75, 76), in the soft sadness of “Qui tollis” (“You, who took upon yourself the sins peace") or in the mournful lamentations of “Crucifixus” (see examples 77, 78), in the bright sadness of the aria “Agnus Dei” (see example 79); impulses of joy, the desire for life in the victorious and solemn choirs filled with delight and inspiration “Gloria”, “Et ressurexit”, “Sanctus” (see examples 74, 75, 76) or in the idyllic, pastoral aria “Et in spiritum sanctum” .

The more concentrated the grief, the more tragic it reaches, the stronger the rise and the more dazzling the light of the episode that replaces it. For example, in the center of the “Credo”, consisting of eight numbers, there are several related to the image of Jesus: “Et incarnatus”, “Crucifixus”, “Et ressurexit”. Each of the numbers mentioned is completely finished and can be performed separately. But just as it happens in some instrumental cyclic works - sonatas, symphonies - the ideological concept, the dynamics of artistic and poetic images unite all three numbers with a line of internal development. "Et incarnatus" speaks of the birth of a man who will take upon himself the sins of the world; in "Crucifixus" - about the crucifixion and death of Jesus; in “Et ressurexit” - about his resurrection. As always with Bach, the pages dedicated to Jesus, the suffering man, are the most heartfelt and emotionally rich.

The contrast between death and the all-conquering power of life is the hidden meaning of this peculiar cycle. Various aspects of the same idea form the main content of the entire work.

The B minor Mass crowns Bach's work. It is the B minor Mass that is the work in which the true nature of Bach’s art, complex, powerful and beautiful, was revealed with utmost depth.

V. Galatskaya

In addition to the Magnificat, Bach turned to other genres of religious music set to Latin liturgical texts. In the second half of the 1930s in Leipzig he wrote no less than five Latin Masses. At that time, worship at the Saxon royal court was performed according to the Catholic rite, and four short masses - F-dur, A-dur, g-moll and G-dur - were intended directly for performance by the Royal Chapel in Dresden. The main part of their music was borrowed by the composer from previously written cantatas. As for the numbers newly composed for these works, there are amazingly beautiful pages, especially in the F major and A major masses.

Bach also wrote works in the Sanctus genre, which, as is known, is an integral part of the Catholic service, based on the Latin ecclesiastical text. The authorship of the composer can be considered precisely established in relation to two opuses of this genre, written in Leipzig in the 20s: C-dur and D-dur. The authenticity of the rest is considered doubtful.

However, all these things completely pale in comparison to the famous High Mass in B minor, which the composer began writing in the first half of the 30s (no later than 1733) and completed in 1738. This work constitutes the most majestic final culmination in the master’s creative path.

Let us recall that Bach departed far from the ritual tradition, expanding the six-movement cycle consecrated by the church into a monumental composition with twenty-four numbers, united in four large parts: Kyria, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus.

The Mass has fifteen choruses, three duets and six arias. Performers: mixed choir (from four to eight voices), soloists (soprano I and II, alto, tenor, bass), orchestra (two flutes, three oboes, two oboes d'amore, two bassoons, three trumpets, horn, timpani, strings), organ and continuo.

The fate of the High Mass is unusual and instructive. By its genre nature, formally intended as if for church worship, it was almost never performed and is now not performed in church, causing a cold and even unkind attitude in clerical circles. This is explained solely by the internal nature, the figurative content of Bach’s music itself, about which much historical and aesthetic untruth has been written in bourgeois musicology. Some are inclined to assume that the Mass was created under the influence of purely external, everyday circumstances and mercantile motives. Others try to reduce it to musical interpretations of prayer texts, to the sound symbolism of a composer-spirit (A. Pirro). Still others believe that Bach sought to recreate in music as accurately as possible all the vicissitudes and accessories of the Sunday service and its sacraments (F. Wolfrum). Finally, A. Schweitzer and A. Hayes put forward a hypothesis about the composer’s utopian intention to symbolically reunite through his work the divided Western Christian church in a synthesis of Protestant and Catholic rites and doctrine.

But music irrefutably testifies against these obviously false and one-sided interpretations. In terms of scale, expressive means and composition of performers, the Mass is clearly not intended for ritual service within church walls, not to mention the aesthetic qualities that are characteristic of its concept and figurative structure.

As for the circumstances under which the work was created (the well-known dedication of Kyrie and Gloria to Frederick Augustus of Saxony, etc.), these circumstances indeed confirm Lessing’s bitter thought about “art asking for bread.” However, they do not explain either the origin of the High Mass, much less its internal content. After many cantatas, after oratorios, passions and the Magnificat, Bach wrote the Mass in B minor not because he needed it financially, but because of the inner impulses of his moral, philosophical and aesthetic nature. It is this work that reveals in the purest and clearest form the philosophical and ethical concept of the composer with its strengths, and in a certain sense, its weaknesses. He was religious and therefore chose a cult text for his purpose, and not any other genre or traditional prayer text. Moreover, the music itself, for all its beauty, is not at all devoid of elements of religious ecstasy, contemplation, and perhaps even detachment (in Credo). But no matter to what extent religious views and moods influenced the composer when he wrote his creation, the impulses of the great humanist artist turned out to be stronger, and this determined the final result: in general, basic terms, the idea of the Mass and its musical embodiment is deeply humane and complete artistically truthful, earthly beauty.

It differs extremely from the oratorios, Magnificat, and passions. It does not capture pictures of life, festive or everyday. There is no narration of events or dramatic scenes in it, although legendary, pictorial, and especially dramatic elements are partly present in some of its individual parts. The true sphere of the High Mass is human ideals in their ethically and aesthetically generalized expression.

Bach's younger contemporary Johann Joachim Winckelmann spoke about the general beauty that arises along the path of an ideal depiction of phenomena. Bach did not and could not write recitatives for the Mass: there would be nothing to tell about them and there would be no one to speak on behalf of any characters. Moreover, the Mass was created, of course, primarily for the Germans, and the traditional cult Latin text on which the music was written was at that time already very far from the German people. Moreover, in some numbers (for example, the first choirs of Kyrie, where huge fugues are sung with just two words “Lord, have mercy”) the meaning of the text is rather formal; in others (for example, in the A major bass aria “And in the Holy Spirit”) the music comes into complete contradiction with the words, and the dogma of classicism, which commands music to “follow in the footsteps of the poet” (Winckelmann), turns out to be violated:

The musical and poetic images of the Mass express the thoughts and feelings of the composer outside of any events (epic) and without characters (drama). This is a huge lyrical and philosophical poem of a symphonic plan, and life is generally captured in its music through the lyrical sphere.

Symphony, even when applied to the first half of the 18th century, means the embodiment of a single idea through a broad and multifaceted development of contrasting images. This contrast indeed lies at the heart of the High Mass. What is its poetically expressive nature? Images of suffering, sorrow, sacrifice, humble prayer, bitter pathos, so characteristic of Passions, tragic cantatas, and, on the other hand, images of joy, light, “triumph of truth”, dominant in the Reformation cantata and Magnificat, are merged here in a gigantic synthesis, which Bach never reached again, neither before nor after the High Mass. He is again close here to Lessing, who wrote about Sophocles’ Philoctetes: “His groans belong to man; actions - to the hero; and from these two sides arises the image of a heroic man who is not effeminate, not insensitive, but represents the highest ideal achieved by the wisdom and art of the artist.” For the first time in the pre-Bakhov period, the idea of ascent from the depths, “from suffering to joy” received organic and purposeful expression in such a broadly and clearly generalized form.

Hence there are two main thematic spheres that dominate the huge twenty-four-part cycle and, above all, its amazingly varied and perfect choirs. One of them could, using the aesthetic categories of the same Lessing, be defined as the thematicism of grief and suffering. The range of its expressive means is wide, but some clearly dominate, determining the emotional structure of the music: the minor mode (primarily harmonic), slowly unfolding melodic lines, often in sequential units, saturated with intensely expressive chromatic intonations, a complex, finely detailed pattern of the melody. Rhythmic figures are predominantly smooth, calm, with long-lasting pronounced ostinati. The gloomy harmony in intense phases of development is complicated by elliptical successions, enharmonic modulations break through it, and at the culminating peaks sharply dissonant consonances appear - diminished seventh chords, dominant chords, enlarged triads, stimulating the movement and expression of lyrical statements:

The polyphonic fabric in these choirs is predominantly light and transparent, although this is not the case everywhere. The orchestra is modest in sound and timbre coloring. Almost throughout the entire length of the sound flow, formative factors act and balance each other, on the one hand, increasing the tone of the utterance and, on the other, preserving the measure of what is aesthetically permissible for it. These are “sighs, tears”, filled with greatness of spirit, and nowhere, with the exception, perhaps, of the introductory one. Adagio, they “do not turn into a cry or a cry” (Lessing).

But this general tendency is differentiated, it manifests itself very differently in the openly outpouring, indomitable pathos of the first five-voice Kyrie and its inspired orchestral prelude; in the “inner flame” of the emotionally restrained four-part chromatic fugue of the second Kyrie; in the pleading and poetic lyrics of the chamber Qui tollis (“You, who have taken upon yourself the sin of the world, Do not reject our humble prayer.”), colored by charming instrumental figuration; in the coldly dispassionate pace of the archaic-Gregorian Credo; in the majestic soaring of the melos Incarnatus (“And made man” (fragment “I Believe”)); in ancient variations of Crucifixus, multifaceted and tragic; finally, in the huge double fugue Confiteor (On the repentance of sinners and the remission of sins.), with its sudden intonation shifts and internal contrast (an innovatively bold and fruitful interpretation of the choir by Bach!).

This entire “sphere of suffering,” in addition to the common intonation structure, has its own unifying tonality - h-moll (with its natural dominant fis-moll and subdominant e-moll), and a single line of movement: a wide, emotionally intense exposition in Kyrie, a breakthrough - an elegiac episode in the middle of the hymnically bright Gloria (the complaint-plea Qui tollis), a tragic culmination in the Credo near the point of the golden section of the cycle (Crucifixus), and finally, fading echoes, reminiscences in the minor arias of the final apotheosis (Sanctus). This is a line of fading development.

Another, contrasting thematic sphere of the Mass might be defined as that of light, action and joy. It is this that dominates the entire cycle - not only harmonically (DIII), but also according to the composer’s philosophical and poetic intent. It embodies, in a Bachian way, the ideal goal of humanity and the path leading to this goal. The main, most active images of this sphere are also contained in the choirs, but of exactly the opposite expressive quality and meaning. Here the major diatonic scale, wide, dynamically energetic vocal lines, often of a chord-fanfare contour (here Bach is at times close to Handel), with steep ups and gentle downs, dominate. In some places they are richly decorated with figuration - jubilant vocalises-anniversaries:

And the harmony is more diatonic, it moves mainly along close degrees of kinship. The rhythm is collected, active, varied, lively. The pace is fast, and the achievement is rapidly rapid - the conquest of the culminating peaks. Almost all choirs in this group are also fugues or include fugues. However, homophonic elements are expressed in them much more widely, and this is due to their genre nature: some are folk hymns (Gratias), others are dance choirs (Gloria, Osanna), others are march choirs (Cum sancto spiritu, Sanctus) . The presentation is rich and massive, the orchestra has more brightness, brilliance, even belligerence in sound (trumpets, timpani). All this is completely secular, worldly, active and vital music. She breathes power, the truth of existence and soars high above the archaic, mystical text. The unifying tonality of this sphere of light and joy is D-dur. Of the eight choruses, seven are written in D major, which corresponds to the general principles of Bach’s aesthetics and harmony: D-dur is his tonality of heroic triumph, the tonality of the Magnificat and the Reformation cantata.

The images of this circle also have their own, special line of formation and development. They don't appear right away. Following Kyrie, the eight-part “small cycle” Gloria is their huge contrasting exposition. In Credo they are pushed aside and obscured by religious contemplations, gloomy funeral processions, and laments. But the effective force that fills them has not dried up and loudly declares itself again; Twice it breaks out uncontrollably widely in the choruses of Et resurrexit and towards the end of Confiteor. The five-part triumphal Sanctus embodies the final and complete statement of this thematic sphere of light and action. Here the line of development moves dynamically upward.

Consequently, the dramaturgy of the Mass is such that its contrasting spheres tend in opposite directions. Kyrie and Gloria form their exposure with the h-D tonal ratio (I-III steps). Credo is a kind of developmental middle of a huge composition, tonally the most unstable, with episodes, withdrawals, and twists and turns. There, contrasting principles are twice brought to direct rapprochement, and twice the first (suffering) is resolved into the second (joy). Sanctus - a final major climax full of power, energy and light - can be defined as an incomplete dynamic reprise - tonal (D-dur), and partly thematic: the last chorus of Dona nobis pacem repeats Gratias.

In addition to the main figurative and thematic elements of the cycle, it contains another one that no longer has an independent, but nevertheless important meaning: these are the arias and duets of the Mass. According to the text, they are completely organically included in the overall composition, especially in Credo, where the choir twice conveys unfinished phrases of the prayer verse to the soloists. The music of these numbers is strikingly different from the choirs. They have an emphatically chamber plan, chamber and excellently finely instrumented accompaniment: strings, continuo, sometimes with flutes and oboes d'amour. They are also excellent in genre appearance. Pastorals (duet Christe eleison), minuets, (aria Quoniam tu solus sanctus) predominate here ), Sicilians (aria Et in spiritum sanctum), arias and ensembles of coloratura style (aria Laudamus, duet Et in unum dominum Jesum Christum). Masterfully executed, naturally, fresh-sounding small canons are woven into the homophonic texture. From lyrical-pathetic arias, so often culminating in the passions, these small forms of the Mass are very distant. In most cases, their music is more of an interlude type - cheerful, sometimes almost everyday, playful, not demanding anything higher from the audience. The break with the liturgical text here is complete and final, at times it produces we have almost a paradoxical impression. The dramatic role of these peculiar interludes is very significant. Whether the composer wanted it or not, but by introducing into the Mass an element of secularism, emotionally bright, full-blooded, sometimes openly associated with folk song and existing genres, he objectively overcame the ritual-cult appearance of his work. The clear harmonic color spread here, the playful, moving melodies create a bright and lively environment that washes the choral mass.

These chamber-lyrical pages of the score contribute to the formation of the main major-life-affirming tendency of the cycle. Even at the very beginning of the Mass, the sad and gloomy Kyrie (B minor, F minor) is cut through by an idyllic D major duet of two sopranos. This gap is a harbinger of the coming Gloria. The tragic climax of the Mass in the center of the Credo, reminiscent of an ancient temple fresco faded by time, is framed by festive-sounding, thoroughly worldly musical episodes: a brilliant, almost Handel-like, coloratura duet of soprano and alto in G major and a Mozartian-graceful, playful bass aria, where instead of God - the holy spirit, about whom the symbol of faith mystically speaks, there are rather life-loving and temperamental characters from “Don Juan” or “The Marriage of Figaro”. These are also numbers - harbingers of the close D-dur "apotheosis - Sanctus. On the contrary, in the bright, triumphantly festive composition of Sanctus" two small elegiac arias are included before the final choir - Beneductus h-moll, tenor) and Agnus Dei (g-moll , alt). The restrained pathos of their vocal line of a winding, wandering pattern, restless and changeable rhythm, intense intonations (tritones in the Agnus Dei), frequent deviations of harmony and intense rises - forcing sequential chains leading to melodic peaks - sound like the last beautiful and sad shadows of an overcome tragedy, "Wreckage of torn darkness." This is clearly embodied in the tonalities chosen by Bach. Benedictus - still in the original “tonic of darkness and sorrow” - h-moll; Agnus Dei is already in the minor subdominant of the new and final tonic of D-dur. The “shadow lightening” effect achieved here is amazingly subtle and clear.

Thus, “intermedia” images are located in close proximity to the main line of development and act as factors in its formation.

This is the dramaturgy of Bach's most profound and symphonic work.

K. Rosenshield

During Bach’s lifetime, it was not performed in its entirety; he sometimes used only the first two movements in Sunday services.

The philosophical content of the Mass was embodied in a monumental, innovative form, significantly expanding the scope of the traditional canon.

As is known, the ritual of the Mass, the central rite of Catholic worship, has evolved over many centuries; Prayer texts were also selected for a long time. In the 11th century, the text of the mass was canonized and enshrined in the following sequence:

Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy");

Gloria ("Glory");

Credo (“I Believe”);

Sanсtus (“Holy”);

Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God").

The exposition of the second sphere - joy and exultation - is "Gloria"(although No. 2 – the light and serene duet “Christe eleison” – has already partly outlined this line).

The choir's melody combines fanfare intonations with virtuoso vocalizations, where one syllable of the text is sung into many sounds (this type of melody comes from “anniversaries”). The light and clear movement in 3/8 is reminiscent of the music of Bach's dance suites. This choir echoes its general solemn and triumphal mood with other D major choirs in both the II and IV (Sanсtus) parts of the mass.

Although the second part of the mass is generally kept in festive tones, it continues to develop the line of sorrow coming from the Kyrie choirs, in particular in the central number - choir no. 8, "Qui tollis"(“You, who have taken away the sins of the world”) Here the h-minor tonality returns, the music again comes closer in spirit to the passions. However, its character is more touching, elegiac than sorrowful, and the sound is chamber. The main individual feature is the melody of the solo flute, which creates a background for the choral voices.

The main content of Part III ( "Credo") is concentrated in the three middle choirs, where a brief narrative appears about how Christ took on human form (No. 15, "Et incarnates"– “And having become incarnate”), suffered and was crucified (No. 16, "Crucifixus"- “Crucified”), and then rose again (No. 17, "Et resurrexit"- “And rose again”). These three choirs are the ideological and figurative center of the entire work. Choirs No. 15 and 16 are connected by a common content: both continue the mournful line of the mass, with “Crucifiхus” being its peak, the tragic culmination of the mass.

The juxtaposition of this choir with the next one, No. 17, forms the most striking contrast within the entire mass. The essence of the contrast is the transition from death to resurrection. "Et resurrexit"– this is the pinnacle in the development of images of jubilation and triumph, and the entire complex of expressive means is aimed at embodying a feeling of all-consuming joy. In the very first bars, the entire orchestra with trumpets enters simultaneously with the choir. The features of a festive concert performance (comparisons of different registers, virtuoso brilliance) are undeniable. The character of movement and the rhythm of the polonaise are used. The melody, starting with an energetic ascending fourth, uncontrollably strives upward, while its structure is symmetrical.

The expression of grief in the aria has a shade of meekness and softness, its main content is peaceful sadness. The characteristic tonality is not h-moll or e-moll, but g-moll. This key - minor S-ta D-dur - is the connecting link between the images of sorrow (minor) and joy (major).

Cast: soprano I, soprano II, alto, tenor, bass, two choirs, orchestra.