Missa Brevis

Missa brevis (Latin, pl. Missae breves) literally means "short mass" and can refer to different types of musical setting of the Mass. Modernly, Missa brevis is generally understood as a setting of parts of the ordinary mass. Composers of the 20th and 21st century have contributed to the genre with choral works.

Missa

Missa is the Latin and Italian word for Mass and can refer both to the invariable words of the Mass and also to their musical setting:

• Kyrie
• Gloria
• Credo
• Sanctus and Benedictus
• Agnus Dei

Note that although the Sanctus and Benedictus form a single part of the liturgical Mass, composers often choose to set it as two (or more) musical parts.

Lutheran Missa

Johann Sebastian Bach and other Lutheran composed works called Missa consisting only of Kyrie and Gloria, in Latin. These masses came to be called Missa brevis because they are shorter in words, the opposite being Missa tota (complete Mass).

Bach wrote four so-called "Lutherische Messen"^[1] and the Missa for Dresden (composed 1733) that later became part of his only missa tota, to be called Mass in B minor.

The four masses are

• Missa in F major, BWV 233, scored for horns, oboes, bassoon, strings, SATB, basso continuo^[2]
• Missa in A major, BWV 234, scored for flute, strings, SATB, basso continuo
• Missa in G minor, BWV 235, scored for oboes, strings, SATB, basso continuo
• Missa in G major, BWV 236, scored for oboes, strings, SATB, basso continuo

see also main article: Missa (Bach)

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel wrote a Deutsche Messe on the words of Kyrie and Gloria in German.

Classical period Missa brevis

For composers of the classical period such as Mozart missa brevis meant "short in duration" – as opposed to "missa longa" (long mass), a term that Leopold Mozart used for his son's K. 262^[3] – rendering the complete words of the liturgy. As the words were well known some composers had different voice parts recite simultaneously different sections of long texts. This is especially characteristic of Austrian masses in the Gloria and the Credo.

French Messe basse

A messe basse is simply a "Low Mass", which may be entirely spoken in a low voice to the accompaniment of music. It is the equivalent of the Deutsche Singmesse. Fauré's Messe basse is a famous example.

German Romantic masses

Schubert's Deutsche Messe, D. 872, is based on German songs, set for 4-part-choir, replacing the parts of the liturgy. Missa canonica of Johannes Brahms is composed of Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei, reflecting the widespread practice of mixing settings.

Composers

Notable examples of the missa brevis form are by composers such as:

• Johann Sebastian Bach, Missa in A major BWV 234, G major BWV 236, G minor BWV 235, F major BWV 233
• Richard Rodney Bennett
• Lennox Berkeley
• Leonard Bernstein
• Benjamin Britten
• Jörg Duda
• Gabriel Fauré, Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville
• Lorenzo Ferrero, Missa Brevis (1975) for 5 voices and two synthesizers
• Joseph Haydn, Missa brevis in F, Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, among others
• Michael Haydn
• Wilhelm Killmayer
• Douglas Knehans, Missa Brevis (2010) for SATB and organ
• Zoltán Kodály
• Frank Martin
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 49, K. 65, K. 140, K. 192, K. 194, K. 220, K. 275
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
• Stephen Paulus
• Gerhard Präsent, Missa minima (2001)
• William Walton
• Vytautas Miškinis, Missa Brevis "Pro pace"

References

1. ^ BACH Lutherische Messen, Study Score based on the NBA, Bärenreiter-Verlag (1987)
2. ^ Missae Breves & Sanctus BWV 233–242 on bach-cantatas
3. ^ Missa longa in C Carus