Missa Sancti Joannis Nepomuceni
MH 182, 1772
Haydn’s Missa Sancti Joannis Nepomuceni, dated 21 May 1772, is dedicated to the Bohemian martyr and patron “Saint of bridges,” Johannes Nepomuk (ca. 1340–1393, canonized in 1729). Despite the addition of woodwinds and brass to the three-part string section, the Mass is in a comparatively simple, compact form as was expressly required by Count Hieronymus Colloredo, Haydn’s second employer in Salzburg. Even in the final sections of the Gloria and Credo Haydn forgoes not only vocal virtuosity, but also the polyphonic artifices which traditionally characterize these passages in the Mass. Like the Missa Sancti Amandi (1776), the Nepomuk Mass does not employ vocal soloists.
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Composer
Johann Michael Haydn
| 1737-1806Johann Michael Haydn worked at the renowned ecclesiastical princely court in Salzburg from 1763. Stylistically, he bridged the gap between the early classical period and the Biedermeier period during his 43 years there. In accordance with his official duties, Haydn contributed to practically all the genres cultivated in the Catholic liturgy: Haydn's church music is characterised by his knowledge of the liturgical function and the musical interpretation of religious texts. Johann Michael Haydn was initially regarded by his contemporaries as equal to Joseph Haydn. It was only the rapid rise of his elder brother to become the most important instrumental composer of the time that pushed Johann Michael Haydn into the shadows, from which the joy of musical discovery in recent years has increasingly brought him out. Personal details
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Editor
Charles H. Sherman