B minor Mass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

B minor Mass - Essay Example His positive position in the society had offered him opportunities to improve with his craft, including Mass in B-Minor. The composition is greatly influenced by the composer’s religious views, his personal connections and traditions of his time. About Mass in B-Minor The Mass in B minor was composed by Bach for the Roman Catholic Church. Although it is quite peculiar to think why a devout Lutheran would compose a song for the Catholics, Bach’s relationship with the rest of the society and his roles on it could justify this contrasting idea. The work is consisted of 27 sections divided into four major sections, and six of them are distinctively unchanging and all of which were written in different periods of Bach’s life. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the work is basically â€Å"an anthology† of music written by Bach in the late years of his life (Towe, 1991: 46). The major sections, â€Å"Kyrie,† â€Å"Gloria,† â€Å"Symbolum Nicen um or the Credo,† and â€Å"Sanctus, Hosanna, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei† were written for different purposes in different times; although all of which have a lot to do with the religious proceedings of the Catholic Mass. As how Spitta (n.d.) reviewed the composition, the work is â€Å"the ideal and ‘concentrated presentiment’ of the development of Christianity from Sin (Kyrie), through Atonement with Christ (Gloria), to the Church proceeding from him (Credo) and the memorial supper - the culmination of the doctrine (Sanctus...)† (as cited in Jenkins, 2001); while a lay-man observation would notice the pattern of life Christ followed: birth, death, and resurrection. Kyrie and Gloria Initially, the Kyrie and Gloria were written separately; it was not until 1733 that the two collections were put into one and played in a single setting and became the â€Å"two fifths of the entire work† (â€Å"History,† 2007). Kyrie and Gloria served as a à ¢â‚¬Å"presentation piece to the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland† with whom Bach had indulgence of being the Court Composer (Towe, 1991: 46). The Kyrie is presented to have charming duets of sopranos and interplay or strings and organ (Aylesbury Choral Society, 2004), of which Bach first gained his fame. It started out with a group of choral sopranos, where the ambiance can be best described as an act of awaiting for a predestined suffering; an event where Jesus Christ is particularly famed for. Talbeck (n.d.) noted that the second part of the Kyrie has â€Å"fugal style weaves all voice parts beautifully around the text, portraying a community grounded in hope.† The major sections were divided into several cantatas, which probably were composed also at different times. Most notably, his â€Å"Gloria,† as how the Aylesbury Choral Society (2004) predicts, â€Å"was probably reworked from a now lost instrumental movement.† The cantatas have duets of teno rs, sopranos, a combination of both, and an exploration of other voice ranges to suit the purpose. Symbolum Nicenum The introduction of the â€Å"Symbolum Nicenum† has a slower tempo, where the strings were audibly significant, compared to that of â€Å"Gloria† and denotes ascendance to the throne. The original text is in Latin, but if translated into English, it is known to be the Apostle’s Creed (e.g. Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem as I believe in one God, Father Almighty in English). Thus, the Symbolum Nicenum is also known as the â€Å"