Post by erik on Jun 24, 2023 20:07:04 GMT -5
One of Mozart's many great contributions to the realm of sacred choral music is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight, his last contribution to the field while still in his hometown of Salzburg.
Mozart: SOLEMN VESPERS OF THE CONFESSOR, K. 339
Although there may have been some issues with how devout he was, Mozart unquestionably composed some of the greatest sacred music of the late 18th century, very much alongside his much older but still complimentary friend Franz Joseph Haydn. His work “The Solemn Vespers Of The Confessor” is a case in point. Composed in 1780, when the composer was 23 years old, going on 24, “The Solemn Vespers” was meant for liturgical use in the Salzburg Cathedral; the sobriquet “The Confessor”, however, is not Mozart’s, but someone else’s; and it is likely that this was added on to the title of the work following Mozart’s death at the end of 1791. The work is structured in six sections: (1) Dixit Dominus (Psalm 110); (2) Confitebor tibi Domine (Psalm 111); (3) Beatus vir qui temet Dominum (Psalm 112); (4) Laudate pueri Dominum (Psalm 113); (5) Laudate Dominium omnes gentes (Psalm 117); (6) Magnificat (Canticle for Vespers). The title suggests also that it was intended for vespers held on a fixed day of the liturgical calendar of saints (or “confessors”), though the saint in question, if such a person even existed, has never been named. It was the last work he ever composed for the cathedral of his hometown before his departure for Vienna, but it remains one of his most popular sacred works.
Soprano: EDDA MOSER
Mezzo-Soprano: JULIA HAMARI
Tenor: NICOLAI GEDDA
Bass-Baritone: DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU
Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/EUGEN JOCHUM (EMI)
Included:
MASS NO. 16 IN C MAJOR, K. 337 (CORONATION)
Mozart: SOLEMN VESPERS OF THE CONFESSOR, K. 339
Although there may have been some issues with how devout he was, Mozart unquestionably composed some of the greatest sacred music of the late 18th century, very much alongside his much older but still complimentary friend Franz Joseph Haydn. His work “The Solemn Vespers Of The Confessor” is a case in point. Composed in 1780, when the composer was 23 years old, going on 24, “The Solemn Vespers” was meant for liturgical use in the Salzburg Cathedral; the sobriquet “The Confessor”, however, is not Mozart’s, but someone else’s; and it is likely that this was added on to the title of the work following Mozart’s death at the end of 1791. The work is structured in six sections: (1) Dixit Dominus (Psalm 110); (2) Confitebor tibi Domine (Psalm 111); (3) Beatus vir qui temet Dominum (Psalm 112); (4) Laudate pueri Dominum (Psalm 113); (5) Laudate Dominium omnes gentes (Psalm 117); (6) Magnificat (Canticle for Vespers). The title suggests also that it was intended for vespers held on a fixed day of the liturgical calendar of saints (or “confessors”), though the saint in question, if such a person even existed, has never been named. It was the last work he ever composed for the cathedral of his hometown before his departure for Vienna, but it remains one of his most popular sacred works.
Soprano: EDDA MOSER
Mezzo-Soprano: JULIA HAMARI
Tenor: NICOLAI GEDDA
Bass-Baritone: DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU
Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/EUGEN JOCHUM (EMI)
Included:
MASS NO. 16 IN C MAJOR, K. 337 (CORONATION)