HAYDN ESIEN” MASS oO 1ER os

Mono LM-2854

Stereo LSC-2854

~ Haydn—“‘Theresien” Mass

Vienna Boys Choir and Soloists

Vienna Konzerthaus Chamber Orchestra

Ferdinand Grossmann, Conductor

“one of the Loftiest specimens in the Entire LITURGICAL LITERATURE...” The composition of the mass as it came to be known in the nineteenth century is directly

attributable to Haydn. He was the great synthesist in this form, as he was in the sym-

phony and the string quartet. First, he took the elements of baroque style from Italy

(probably from Niccolo Porpora, one of his first teachers), then the classical elements

from Germany (most likely from old Gregorius Werner, his predecessor as Kapellmeister

at Eisenstadt), and with the aid of a Croatian folk tune here and there catalyzed these

into a form of church composition uniquely his own.

Spread throughout an incredibly rich creative lifetime is testimony of Haydn’s con-

tinuous activity in the field of sacred music. Religion for him was not just a‘condition

of the mind but a way of life; he considered the composition of church music the highest

duty of a Christian composer. The first of his fourteen known masses was written c. 1749-51, before he was twenty; the last, after Mozart’s death and the completion of

the “London” symphonies, is dated 1802.

Upon his return to Vienna from London, in 1792, Haydn found himself once again

in the employ of a Prince Esterhazy, Nicholas II, who required him to compose about

one mass a year. It is often said that Haydn’s six great masses were written for the name

day of Princess Marie Esterhazy, which was September Sth. The “Theresien” Mass, the fourth of this final half dozen, may take its name from that

of the Emperor Francis II’s second wife, Marie Thérése, a long-standing patron of Haydn and an-accomplished singer. Or it may be, according to musicologist Alfred Schnerich, named after the singer Therese Rosenbaum-Gassmann, the wife of Haydn’s friend and associate Carl Rosenbaum (to whom the composer left his head!—but that is another story), a former secretary to Prince Esterhazy. Since Haydn himself never had

the Mass published during his lifetime, the dedication has remained unclarified. Around the beginning of the twentieth century, Schnerich began resurrecting the

scores of the long-neglected Haydn masses. In the National Library at Vienna he found

the original manuscript of the “Theresien” Mass and prepared an edition which was pub- lished there in 1925. His edition makes clear the two basic reasons for the great popu- larity of the work at its first performances in Vienna and London: it is one of the loftiest specimens in the entire liturgical literature, and, despite its grandeur, its scoring is

simple. H. C. Robbins Landon has further summarized the points that characterize Haydn’s

final six masses: “solo vocal quartet...used alone or together with the choir according to its textual and structural task: often one half of a sentence being sung by one or more soloists, the rest seized upon and completed by the choir. The orchestral apparatus is by no means of less importance than the voices...the choir is used as the main staple, the generally static core of the whole structure, the strings (and wind instruments, when present) provide the forward motion, while the brass and drums enclose and punctuate the whole with a rhythmic impetus.”

Schnerich believed that the Mass derived its “unique conception” from the fact that its music was an “accompaniment of the ritual” actually being celebrated at the altar. The Kyrie, with its gentle adagio, is confident. The Gloria and Credo accompany the preparations for the ceremony which, in effect, rises to a climax in the short Sanctus.

The expectation in the Transubstantiation is emphasized by the solemnity of the Hosanna, while the Benedictus, usually sung in the presence of holy offerings and usually of a jubilant nature, is here rendered joyous but not excessively exuberant. The first half of the Agnus Dei accompanying the Communion is solemn and devotional, while the deeply fervent Dona nobis pacem which follows shows Haydn’s most characteristic trait: it

combines a devout prayer for peace with the festive close of the ceremony. Even amid the splendor of the ““Theresien” Mass, the unpretentious good nature of the

composer is ever present. “Anyone can see by the look of me,” said Haydn, “that I mean well by everybody.” Notes by HopE SHERIDAN

The solo quartet consists of a boy soprano, a boy alto, Kurt Equiluz, tenor, Alois Buchbauer, bass.

KYRIE

Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.

GLORIA Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee. We give thanks to thee for thy great glory; O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty, O Lord the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ,

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, qui tollis peccata mundi, thou that takest away the sins of the world, miserere nobis, suscipe deprecationem nostram. have mercy upon us, receive our prayer.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Thou that sittest at the right hand

miserere nobis. of the Father, have mercy upon us. Quoniam tu solus sanctus, For thou only art holy, tu solus Dominus, thou only art the Lord,

tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe, thou only, O Christ, art most high,

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bone voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam; Domine Deus, Rex ceelestis, Deus Pater Omnipotens, Domine Filii Jesu Christe unigenite ;

cum Sancto Spiritu with the Holy Ghost in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

ae CREDO |

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,

omnia sxecula, begotten of his Father before all worlds,

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, God of God, light of light,

Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum, very God of very God, begotten, not made,

consubstantialem Patri, being of one substance with the Father

per quem omnia facta sunt; by whom all things were made;

qui propter nos homines who for us men

et propter nostram salutem and for our salvation

descendit de ceelis, came down from heaven,

et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost

ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est; of the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

crucifixus etiam pro nobis, sub Pontio Pilato, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate,

passus et sepultus est; suffered and was buried;

et resurrexit tertia die and the third day he rose again

secundum scripturas, according to the Scriptures,

et ascendit in celum, and ascended into heaven,

sedet ad dexteram Patris, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father;

et iterum venturus est cum gloria and he shall come again with glory

judicare vivos et mortuos, to judge both the quick and the dead,

cujus regni non erit finis. whose kingdom shall have no end.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, And I believe in the Holy Ghost,

Dominum et vivificantem, the Lord and Giver of Life,

qui ex Patre Filioque procedit, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,

qui cum Patre et Filio simul who with the Father and the Son together

adoratur et conglorificatur, is worshipped and glorified, qui locutus est per Prophetas. who spake by the Prophets. Et unam sanctam catholicam And I believe in one holy catholic et apostolicam ecclesiam. and Apostolic Church. Confiteor unum baptisma I acknowledge one baptism in remissionem peccatorum, for the remission of sins, et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, and I look for the resurrection of the dead, et vitam venturi seculi. Amen. and the life of the world to come. Amen.

SANCTUS

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, pleni sunt ceeli et terra gloria tua. heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Osanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

BENEDICTUS Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

AGNUS DEI O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Grant us peace.

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem Omnipotentem,

factorem cceli et terre, visibilium omnium et invisibilium; et ex Patre natum ante

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Dona nobis pacem.

Timings: Side 1—5 :14, 12:56 * Side 2—10 :04, 1:45, 6:40, 6:30

©1965, Radio Corporation of America * Printed in U.S.A.

VI 9