Missa in Tempore Belli "Paukenmesse"

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Mass No. 9 in C major, Hob XXII:9 (1796) Missa in Tempore Belli

Missa in Tempore Belli (Mass in Time of War, sometimes known as the Paukenmesse, or Kettledrum Mass) was Haydn’s own title on the autograph score for the ninth, and one of the most popular of his fourteen settings of the Order of the Mass. He composed it at Eisenstadt in August 1796, at the time of Austria’s general mobilisation, four years into the European war that followed the French Revolution, Austrian troops were doing badly against the French in Italy and Germany, and Austria feared invasion. Reflecting the troubled mood of his time, Haydn’s potent integration of references to battle in the Benedictus and Agnus Dei is inspired. The Mass was first performed on December 26, 1796 in the Piarist Church of Maria Treu in Vienna.

Haydn was a deeply religious man, who appended the words “Praise be to God” at the end of every completed score. As Kapellmeister to the Prince Nicholas II Esterhàzy, Haydn’s principal duty in the last period of his life was the composition of an annual mass to honour the name day of Prince Nicholas’ wife, Princess Maria Hermenegild. In a final flowering of his genius, he faithfully completed six magnificent masses (with increasingly larger orchestras) for this occasion. Thus Missa in Tempore Belli was performed at the family church the Bergkirche at Eisenstadt on September 29, 1797. Haydn also composed his oratorio The Creation over 1796-98 and the two great works share some of his signature vitality and tone-painting.

The autograph manuscript contains in Haydn's own hand, "Missa in tempore belli" (Mass in time of war). There can be no doubt that this was his intention from the beginning.^[1][2]

The Kyrie opens like a symphony in sonata form, with a slow introduction before moving on to the main theme. The Kyrie Eleison (Lord have Mercy) part is given more importance - the Christe Eleison occupies just four bars. The Gloria is a little choral symphony in the form Vivace-Adagio-Allegro (Fast-Slow-Fast). The lyrical, and deeply felt ‘cello part in the middle section, beginning Qui tollis peccata mundi is especially beautiful. The Credo is divided into sections that generally reflect the text, but with Haydn's usual overriding sense of structure. At the opening, as each voice part enters with a joyous and rhythmic theme, it takes a different line of the text. A truncated fugue begins at the last line, but it is interrupted midway by an elaborate coda using the solo quartet, with the chorus joining in antiphonally. The Sanctus opens slowly, but builds to a rather ominous forte on the text Pleni Sunt Coeli before moving to a brief, more genteel Hosanna in Excelsis.

The In Tempore Belli first suggests itself in the Benedictus. This is set mostly in short nervous phrases for the solo quartet, with the three lower voices singing detached notes below the soprano melody reminiscent of pizzicato strings. The sense of anxiety and foreboding continues with ominous drumbeats and wind fanfares in the Agnus Dei, which opens with minor-key timpani strokes (hence the German nickname, Paukenmeße), perhaps fate itself, knocking seemingly from the depths. This foreshadows the timpani-catalysed drama of the Agnus Dei in Beethoven's mighty Missa Solemnis, op. 123 (1823). The music brightens with trumpet fanfares, ending with an almost dance-like entreaty and celebration of peace, Dona Nobis Pacem.

The Missa has been long thought to express an anti-war sentiment, even though there is no explicit message in the text itself, and no clear indication from Haydn that this was his intention.^[3][4]

Mass text

Kyrie

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Gloria

Gloria in excelsis Deo, Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. Domine Deus. Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe; Domine Deus, Agnus Dei Filius Patris: Qui tollis peccata mundi miserere nobis, qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram, Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus. Tu solus dominus. Tu solus altissimus. Jesu Christe Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris Amen

Credo

Credo in unum Deum. Patrem omnipotentem factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit et coelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine: ex homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia die secundum scripturas. Et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos, cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et in unum sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam venturi saeculi.

Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth! Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis Deo.

Benedictus

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis Deo.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis! Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis! Agnus Dei, dona nobis pacem!

References

1. ^ na. Answers.com Missa in Tempore Belli.
2. ^ "ChoralWiki", Wikipedia. 
3. ^ Answers.com Missa in Tempore Belli.
4. ^ ChoralWiki. Wikipedia.

External links

• Download in MP3 format (Creative Commons Licence)