Missa Sancta nº 1

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 1786 – 5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school. Missa Sancta No.1, Op.75a (1817-1818) 1. Kyrie 2. Gloria 3. Credo 4. Sanctus 5. Benedictus 6. Agnus Dei Norwegian Soloist Choir and Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted by Grete Pedersen Helgerød Live Recording in Oslo Cathedral on 21.03.2003 Weber composed the Missa Sancta no. 1 in E flat between 1817 and 1818, at the very time he was working on the opera Der Freischütz. As a consequence, some of the melodic ideas encountered in this Mass resemble those found in the opera and give the work the nickname ‘Freischützmesse’. Structurally, it is a work for soloists, chorus and orchestra; it contains the conventional numbers, ‘Kyrie’, ‘Gloria’, ‘Credo’, ‘Sanctus’ and ‘Agnus Dei’. The style is, however, more galant, and resembles some of Haydn’s Masses. Weber’s orchestration differs in its use of winds and brass. It is, in general, more symphonic than one would encounter with Haydn, although it hardly compares with the very large forces Beethoven would later use in the Missa Solemnis. As to the relationship to Der Freischütz, the ‘Kyrie’ contains an extended passage that uses the diminished seventh chord in a way similar to its use with the character Samiel in the opera. This is not to say that Weber draws on the diabolical character in the Mass, but rather, that he uses the chord prominently. When they occur at the opening of the Sanctus, these chords contribute to the movement an element of suspense. A more specific reference to Der Freischütz occurs, however, in the ‘Sanctus’, which evokes some of the music of Agathe. In the ‘Agnus Dei’ Weber similarly evokes Agathe’s character by using motives associated with her. These evocations of Der Freischütz should not be taken as programmatic, but rather suggest more about the origins of the Mass, which coincide with Weber’s intensive work on the opera. Given that the two works were roughly contemporaneous, the similarity of the thematic content is not surprising, even though their purposes differed. Coming from an extremely busy time in Weber’s career, the Missa Sancta no. 1 is an excellent work which should be known better through more frequent performanc