The Missa solemnis in C minor, K. 139/47a, is a mass composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the summer of 1768 in Vienna.[1] It is scored for SATB soloists, SATB choir, violin I and II, 2 violas, 2 oboes, 2 trumpets, 2 clarini (high trumpets), 3 trombones colla parte, timpani and basso continuo.
Missa solemnis in C minor | |
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"Waisenhaus" | |
Mass by W. A. Mozart | |
Key | C minor |
Catalogue | K. 139/47a |
Occasion | Consecration of the Waisenhauskirche |
Performed | 7 December 1768 Vienna : |
Movements | 6 |
Vocal | SATB choir and soloists |
Instrumental |
The mass was commissioned by the Jesuit priest Father Ignaz Parhammer, who asked Mozart for music for the consecration of the new Orphanage Church – Waisenhauskirche – on the Rennweg.[2] The commission gives the mass its nickname Waisenhausmesse (Orphanage Mass). Mozart also composed a trumpet concerto suitable for performance by a boy as well as an offertory, both thought to be lost.[2] Indeed, due to cataloging errors, this mass was also considered lost for many years.[3][4]
The first performance took place on 7 December 1768 at the church, in the presence of the court. The twelve-year-old Mozart conducted a choir of orphans in a performance that received "universal acclaim and admiration".[2] This mass is considered Mozart's most ambitious work to be performed up until that point in time,[5] and was his first and longest missa longa.[6]
The mass consists of six movements. Performances require approximately 40 minutes.
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Despite its designation as a C minor mass, the music is predominantly in C major;[3] masses wholly set in a minor key were considered unusual and funereal in the classical period.[4][7]