"The Little Church Around the Corner"
One East 29th Street, New York
MUSIC NOTES:
Easter IV - May 6, 2001
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) composed his Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo around 1775, placing it well before the period that produced such well-known works as the Lord Nelson Mass, the Mass in Time of War and the Theresienmesse. The length, elaborateness, orchestral resources and demanding solo passages of these later works make them splendid material for concerts in churches, but highly problematic as music intended to support and decorate the sacred liturgy. The Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo is, by contrast, a concise and restrained work, designed for resources much smaller than the palace of Esterhazy (where Haydn was employed as musician to the Prince for many years) or the magnificent churches of Hapsburg Vienna. The Mass was commissioned by the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, a religious order of lay-brothers dedicated to the care of the sick and dying, for use in their hospital chapel. The brothers wished to have the work dedicated to their patron and founder, St. John of God, a 16th-century Portuguese saint who led a most eccentric and colorful life, and whose zeal for charitable work was boundless. Also by request of the brothers, the Mass was to be of modest length, and allowed for only one aria-like solo at the Benedictus for soprano, concertante organ and accompaniment by a small string ensemble (which could be assimilated into the organ part if necessary). Haydn accepted the commission, and composed a work that has outlived many of its grander and more impressive counterparts, a work that is equally at home in a concert or a liturgical context.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) composed his Jubilate Deo in C Major in 1961, at the request of the Duke of Edinburgh. The work was written for St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and is a long-awaited sequel to Britten's 1935 Te Deum, thus completing this setting of the Matins canticles. The Jubilate Deo is a short, but challenging work, build upon two contrasting musical ideas. Following the contours of the text, the piece opens with a joyful, angular melody and a lively bell-like organ accompaniment, then moves into a more conjunct and settled passage introduced at "be thankful unto Him," and concludes with a return to the original idea.
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) composed his Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo around 1775, placing it well before the period that produced such well-known works as the Lord Nelson Mass, the Mass in Time of War and the Theresienmesse. The length, elaborateness, orchestral resources and demanding solo passages of these later works make them splendid material for concerts in churches, but highly problematic as music intended to support and decorate the sacred liturgy. The Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo is, by contrast, a concise and restrained work, designed for resources much smaller than the palace of Esterhazy (where Haydn was employed as musician to the Prince for many years) or the magnificent churches of Hapsburg Vienna. The Mass was commissioned by the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, a religious order of lay-brothers dedicated to the care of the sick and dying, for use in their hospital chapel. The brothers wished to have the work dedicated to their patron and founder, St. John of God, a 16th-century Portuguese saint who led a most eccentric and colorful life, and whose zeal for charitable work was boundless. Also by request of the brothers, the Mass was to be of modest length, and allowed for only one aria-like solo at the Benedictus for soprano, concertante organ and accompaniment by a small string ensemble (which could be assimilated into the organ part if necessary). Haydn accepted the commission, and composed a work that has outlived many of its grander and more impressive counterparts, a work that is equally at home in a concert or a liturgical context.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) composed his Jubilate Deo in C Major in 1961, at the request of the Duke of Edinburgh. The work was written for St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and is a long-awaited sequel to Britten's 1935 Te Deum, thus completing this setting of the Matins canticles. The Jubilate Deo is a short, but challenging work, build upon two contrasting musical ideas. Following the contours of the text, the piece opens with a joyful, angular melody and a lively bell-like organ accompaniment, then moves into a more conjunct and settled passage introduced at "be thankful unto Him," and concludes with a return to the original idea.
