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Home » Franz Joseph Haydn » Choral Music » Mass for soloists, chorus, organ & orchestra in B flat major ("Theresienmesse"), H. 22/12

Mass for soloists, chorus, organ & orchestra in B flat major ("Theresienmesse"), H. 22/12 by Franz Joseph Haydn

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About This Work

On returning to Austria in 1795 from his second London trip, Franz Josef Haydn again took up his position with the {Esterházy} family. {Prince Anton Esterházy} had died in 1794 after largely dissolving the family's musical establishment. Haydn's new employer, Prince Nikolaus II, wanted to reestablish the musical chapel to some extent, but wasn't nearly the music lover his grandfather Nikolaus I was (Haydn had happily served the latter for close to 30 years). One of the few demands Nikolaus II made of Haydn was the annual composition of a mass to commemorate the nameday of Princess Marie Hermenegild, Nikolaus II's wife. Over the years 1796 to 1802 Haydn wrote six such masses, of which the fourth was the "Theresienmesse," written in 1799.

The Therese of the title was probably Marie Therese, the wife of Emperor Francis II. Marie Therese was one of Haydn's patronesses, and a singer who performed the soprano parts in the premieres of Haydn's great oratorios The Creation and The Seasons.

By the time of this Mass' composition Prince Nikolaus II's orchestra was reduced to strings, trumpets, timpani and organ; these, along with a pair of clarinets brought in from Vienna, are the only instruments featured in this relatively intimate mass. Adding to the intimacy is the extensive use of the vocal quartet, both as soloists in ensemble. They are at the forefront in the stately opening Kyrie. The extroverted, radiant Gloria has a lovely Gratias agimus tibi at its center, in which the soprano soloist is eventually joined by the rest of the soloists. The forthright and joyous Credo is followed by a short, gentle Sanctus, and a more extensive Benedictus that is almost playful in its high sprits. The most forceful portions of the work are the Et resurrexit that concludes the Credo movement, and the final section, which juxtaposes a dramatic Agnus Dei and a big, affirmative Dona nobis pacem with punctuations from the trumpets and timpani. ~ All Music Guide