Composed 1783; Duration: 53 minutes

Last BPO Performance: May 9-10, 1998 (Maximiano Valdés, conductor)

In 1777, Mozart and his mother traveled from Salzburg to Paris on a fruitless job hunt, but made an important stop in Mannheim, a hub for musical innovation. Here, they socialized with Fridolin and Cäcilia Weber, whose four daughters were sopranos. Mozart’s attempt to court the second daughter, Aloysia, ended with rejection. No matter: Mozart had his career to consider and would eventually relocate to Vienna in 1781. 

The Webers had moved to the city in 1779, and the connection was useful for Mozart, who needed a place to live. By now, Aloysia was married, and Mozart struck a romance with her younger sister, Constanze. Despite protests from both families, the couple was married on August 4, 1782, and the rest is history.

During 1782 and 1783, he was busy establishing his reputation in Vienna with works like his opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, and entertaining concert works such as his “Haffner” Symphony (No. 35) and several of his piano concertos. Meanwhile, he was devising a large, serious project for his hometown audience.

In the autumn of 1783, he returned to his old stomping grounds with his new bride by his side and a massive work in his hands. His three-month homecoming in Salzburg offered Mozart’s father and sister the opportunity to meet Constanze, and for the city to celebrate their greatest musical export. On an October Sunday, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor was performed at St. Peter’s Abbey by his former colleagues of the Salzburg court orchestra, and featured Constanze as soloist. The work is a Missa solemnis, implying its large scale, yet was never completed and omits portions of the Credo and Agnus Dei. 

As Mozart was working on flashy piano concertos to please Viennese audiences, he quietly relished in poring over the scores of Bach, Handel, and other unfashionable late Baroque masters. This newfound interest likely explains the inspiration for the work, but he could not afford to produce it for the progressive Viennese audience. Conservative Salzburg was a better location, and his connections made the work perfect for a homecoming.

The work opens with a foreboding tension. The Kyrie is rich with imitative counterpoint in the choir with colorful orchestral support, but the tension lightens with a serene soprano solo. The choir reaches a climax with dense counterpoint, but settles quietly, inviting the Gloria.

The Gloria sequence comprises eight individual sections, beginning with the jubilant Gloria in excelsis Deo, followed by a feature for the soprano soloist in the energetic Laudamus te. Following a brief transitional interlude with the tense Gratias, the flowing Domine features both sopranos. The stark rhythms of the accompaniment in Qui tollis support the dark chorale of the chorus, which alternates with the soloists. Quoniam again features the soloists as an ensemble in a richly textured setting. Jesu Christe opens with a stunning fanfare that leads to a fugue of men’s voices and gains energetic rhythmic momentum. 

The vibrant fanfares of the Credo feel plucked out of a Handel oratorio, followed in the delicate and delectable Andante soprano solo, Et incarnatus est. The Sanctus opens with powerfully striking call-and-response chords alternating between chorus and brass, followed by an ecstatically rhythmic setting that leads to the adeptly fugal Hosanna in excelsis. The conclusive Benedictus features four solo voices who begin in a brooding A minor, but quickly move to the bright C major. The work concludes with a reprise of the brilliant Hosanna in excelsis.