Masses Both of tonight’s works are called “masses”.  A mass, strictly, is the formal eucharistic church service, primarily used in the Roman Catholic tradition, although also used in Anglican and Episcopal churches.  Masses developed early in church history, probably around the fourth century; in those earliest versions, the music was chant-style.  By the 11th century the pattern had become nearly modern, and some of the music was departing from chant.  Masses consist of two parts:  The “Ordinary” of the mass includes the portions which do not change with the season or purpose; the “Proper” includes those portions specific to a season or activity.  The Ordinary typically contains the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, in that order; the detail embodied in each section varies as determined by the composer.

A ‘requiem’ mass is a funeral service, or mass for the dead. Such works are sometimes performed in a Lenten setting, i.e., in memory of the death of Jesus Christ.  Requiem masses embody sections not used in other masses, e.g., “Requiem Aeternam”, “Dies Irae”, “in Paradisum”, but most of the mass Ordinary is still usually present.  Though masses like tonight’s Haydn work were actually intended to be used in services, many existing masses are really written for the concert hall.  More to the point, many “masses”  do not correspond to the traditional form at all:  Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” is actually a stage work, effectively an opera;  Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem” sets poetry which has little or no connection with the traditional format.  And the Requiem in tonight’s presentation also bends the structure to its own purposes.  Grove’s Encyclopedia says that “…the tension between the liturgical purpose and creative treatments of the text of the Mass Ordinary… may have fractured permanently”.  You are welcome to decide for yourselves whether such fracturing is beneficial.

Mass in Time of War (Franz) Josef Haydn was born in Rohrau, on the Austria-Hungary border, to humble parents who loved music although they were not musically literate.  (His younger brother Michael also became a composer.)  At age 6, Josef was sent to live with a relative in Hainberg to become a choirboy; and there he also learned to play the timpani, or kettledrums– a skill we will come back to.  Thereafter, he became a chorister at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, performing in a choir ancestral to the Vienna Boys’ Choir of today.  After his voice changed, he had to freelance for some time; he was 25 before he obtained a full-time job as Kapellmeister.  That first job led to a more secure one with the Esterhazy family, for whom he worked the rest of his life.

Haydn wrote 104 symphonies; he is regarded as the ‘father’ of today’s symphony form, and he also contributed much to chamber music, e.g., string quartets, trios, and the like.  He wrote operas, concerti— two cello concertos are known— works for unusual instruments, such as the baryton, and oratorios, notably “The Creation” which was written nearly contemporaneously with tonight’s work.  His sense of humor is evident from some of his symphonic works (the “Surprise” and “Farewell” symphonies are well-known examples), and he was acquainted with many of the musical stalwarts of his time— as a close friend, fellow Mason, and mentor to Mozart; a teacher to Beethoven; and an acquaintance of Hummel and Salieri.  He developed his own style while studying the works of others, notably C. P. E. Bach, who was about one generation older.  And near the end of his life, he spent several years in England, an acclaimed composer.

Now 18th century Europe was not often without war:  From 1701 on, the Continent was never at peace for as much as a dozen years, and treaties in the brief interims shuffled territories among nations like chess pieces.  Notwithstanding this chaos, arts flourished in many places, and some rulers— e.g., Joseph II of Austria— accomplished humanitarian reforms, albeit not without engendering discontent among both princes and serfs.  But it was the French Revolution, beginning in 1789, which most threatened the Austrian empire, which up to that point was among the most significant in Europe, including parts of Bohemia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Belgium and Netherlands.  France, deep in its own revolutionary fervor, declared war on Austria in April of 1792.  Over the next few years, Austria’s empire lost many of its outlying territories.    Despite internal conflict, France continued waging war into the 1800s, with a brief pause in 1797.  “Missa in Tempore Belli (Mass in Time of War)”, Haydn’s own title for this Mass, probably could have referred to any period during his long life (1732-1809); its composition, however, probably was not linked to the young Napoleon, who won his first major victory– in Italy– in 1796, the year of this Mass’ composition and of its first performance.  This Mass—the tenth of fourteen by Haydn— is one of six which he wrote to celebrate the name day, September 12, of Princess Maria Hemenegild, Prince Niklaus Esterhazy’s wife.  In addition to the title discussed above, this work is also known as “Paukenmesse”— or timpani mass— because of its use of that instrument, particularly in the Agnus Dei portion; you may remember that Haydn learned to play timpani during his youth in Hainberg.  Notwithstanding its titles, this mass is quite upbeat and does not show much of the tension of its times.  The Chorus previously performed this work in May, 1990.

Requiem John Rutter, now in his 75th year [as of 2020], was born in London, and educated there and at Clare College of Cambridge University.  He taught briefly in Southampton, and then returned to Cambridge as director of music; after four years he resigned to devote himself entirely to composition.  He has achieved acclaim for his Christmas songs, stage music for youth performance, and even some instrumental pieces; he has also composed for the St. Charles Singers, in our own area.  But his larger works include a Gloria, a Te Deum, and tonight’s work, characterized as a requiem mass.  This was first performed in its entirety in a United Methodist church in Dallas in 1985, although four movements had been premiered earlier at a Presbyterian church in Los Angeles.  As noted above, Rutter’s conception departs significantly from traditional mass structure:  The initial movement, Requiem Aeternam, is traditional, primarily in Latin, and embeds the “Kyrie eleison / Christe eleison” of the mass Ordinary.  But the second movement departs completely by setting, in English, text from Psalm 130, “Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord…”.  There follow a “Pie Jesu” and a “Sanctus and Benedictus”), both in Latin and in line with traditional practice. The “Agnus Dei” movement opens with traditional Latin, but then adds text in English from the 1662 edition of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer; some English text is sung against the Latin before the movement closes traditionally. The penultimate movement consists only of Psalm 23, in English (this movement was adapted from a previously composed anthem); and the final movement, though titled in accordance with the traditional form, “Lux Aeterna”, adapts English text from the Anglican burial service, returning to the traditional Latin for the final 72 measures.

The Chorus last performed this work in April, 1999.

J. R. Fancher