Missa in honorem Sancti Gotthardi
MH 530
The names of Michael Haydn’s masses are associated either with a specific commission or with the composition’s dedicatee. Thus, Haydn composed the “Missa in honorem Sti. Gotthardi,” also known as the “Admont Mass,” for the Admont Abbey located in the region of Styria, Austria, where Gotthard Kuglmayr was the Abbot. The mass combines formal concentration with liturgical function. The songlike melody, the unity of the motivic material, and the balanced harmony of solemn and lyrical passages show how intensively Haydn concerned himself with the genre. Due to its length and its orchestration the mass can be considered a type of missa solemnis. Fugues and fugal movements are completely missing from the Missa Admontis as is any kind of contrapuntal (including imitative) composition. In so doing, Haydn assured that the required understanding of the liturgical text would be achieved.
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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
Armin Kircher
| 1966-2015Armin Kircher studied church music at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Until his death he was Director of the Church Music Department of the Archdiocese of Salzburg, and since 1992 he had been administrative director of the Österreichische Werkwoche für Kirchenmusik (Austrian Week for Church Music). He was also Director of Music at St Peter's Abbey, Salzburg and organist at the Cajetan Church in Salzburg. The collections he edited for the Catholic liturgy have become established standard works, in particular the choral collections Chorbuch Mozart • Haydn, the Chorbuch Kirchenjahr (Choirbook for the Church Year) and publications for organ and choir for the new Catholic hymnbook Gotteslob. Armin Kircher also made a name as an arranger of beautiful settings for choir and organ. Personal details
Reviews
[...] Trotz ihrer Länge gehört die Missa (insgesamt 972 Takte) mit einer Aufführungsdauer von 35 Minuten zu den besten Messvertonung Haydns. Auffallend ist auch die Ausdehnung des „Dona nobis pacem” mit 293 Takten (und einem Kürzungsvorschlag des Herausgebers) sowie das pathetisch langsame Tempo im Kyrie (Largo/Adagio). Die prachtvolle Messe verdient es, in ihrer instrumentalen Farbigkeit und souveränen Chorbehandlung für Konzert und Liturgie wiederentdeckt zu werden.
Kirchenmusikalische Mitteilungen der Erzdiözese Freiburg, Nov. 2010Reviews on our website can only be submitted by customers with a registered user account. A check whether the rated products were actually purchased does not take place.
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