(German High Mass) is the title common to several mass compositions by

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 173710 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau, near the Hungarian border. ...

, setting the mass ordinary in German by

Franz Seraph von Kohlbrenner Johann Franz Seraph von Kohlbrenner (17 October 1728 – 6 June 1783) was a German polymath, promoting the Enlightenment in Bavaria. While working as a civil servant for the Bavarian court, he published a hymnal which contained a complete German ...

. Three of the works require trained singers and orchestra, while a fourth is kept simple to be sung by the congregation, as a

Deutsche Singmesse The Deutsche Singmesse is a form of ( Tridentine) Low Mass that developed in German-speaking countries. Historical precursors In Austria, congregational singing of sacred texts in Old High German at Easter Masses is attested by medieval manuscript ...

(''Betsingmesse''). His best-known German High Mass is catalogued as MH 560. Haydn's masses in German are also known by the

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...

of the first of ten songs, "Hier liegt vor deiner Majestät".

History

Johann Michael Haydn set several times a German text published in

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

in 1777 in the hymnal ''Landshuter Gesangbuch'' by

. The full title of the hymnal is ''Der heilige Gesang zum Gottesdienste in der römisch-katholischen Kirche'' (The holy singing for the divine service in the Roman Catholic Church). It promoted

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

singing in German. Haydn's masses are also known by the

of the first of ten songs, "Hier liegt vor deiner Majestät" (Here lies before Your Majesty). In the hymnal, the songs which correspond to elements of the

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

came with melodies by . The texts reflect the spirit of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

. They became common in Austria, also by Haydns settings. His best-known German mass is catalogued as MH 560, which has been described as "musically the epitome of south-German/Austrian Catholicism".

Structure

Kohlbrenner wrote ten songs, related to the

Order of Mass Order of Mass is an outline of a Mass celebration, describing how and in what order liturgical texts and rituals are employed to constitute a Mass. The expression Order of Mass is particularly tied to the Roman Rite where the sections under that ...

. * Opening / Kyrie: "Hier liegt vor deiner Majestät im Staub die Christenschar" (The group of Christians lies here in the dust before Your Majesty) * Gloria: "Gott soll gepriesen werden" (God shall be praised) * Responsorial song: "Aus Gottes Munde gehet das Evangelium" (From God's mouth goes the gospel) * Credo: "Allmächtiger, vor dir im Staube bekennt dich deine Kreatur" (Almighty, Your creatures confess You in the dust before You) * Preparation of gifts: "Nimm an, o Herr, die Gaben" (Accept, Oh Lord, the offerings) * Sanctus: "Singt: Heilig, heilig, heilig" (Sing: Holy, holy, holy) * After the

Consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

: "Sieh, Vater, von dem höchsten Throne" (Look, Father, from the highest throne) * Agnus Dei: "Betrachtet ihn in Schmerzen" (Look at him in sorrows) * Under Communion: "O Herr, ich bin nicht würdig" (O Lord, I am not worthy) * Thanksgiving: "Nun ist das Lamm geschlachtet" (Now the Lamb is slaughtered), alternatively "In Frieden lasst uns ziehen" (Let us go in peace)

Deutsches Hochamt, MH 536

Haydn set the text first 1793 in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. He wrote a composition in

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

for four mixed voices, two

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s and organ, with the option for two horns or trumpets.

Deutsches Hochamt, MH 560

Haydn set the text a second time in 1795, the composition which became known best. The melodies are similar to Hauner's from the ''Landshuter Gesangbuch'' of 1777, but the composition is regarded as his original work. The autograph is not extant. It is believed that Haydn wrote only an organ part, with two vocal parts and their text in the upper system, and

figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsic ...

in the lower system. When the work was first published by Ignaz Sauer in Vienna in 1800, it was expanded, probably by the publisher, to four voices. A second edition, in 1827 by

Tobias Haslinger Tobias Haslinger (1 March 1787 - 18 June 1842) was an Austrian composer and music publisher. He published works by composers including, among others, Beethoven, Bendel, Mozart, Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1 ...

, offers an optional instrumental setting for two to nine instruments: two

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s (or two violins), two

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s, two

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

, two

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(or

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

followed the model of this setting when he wrote his ''

Deutsche Messe ''Deutsche Messe'' ("German Mass"; full title: , "German Mass and Order of Worship") was published by Martin Luther in 1526. It followed his work '' Formula missae'' from the year 1523, pertaining to the celebration of a Latin mass. Both of these ...

''.

Deutsches Hochamt, MH 602

Haydn composed a setting of Kohlbrenner's text in B-flat major for two soprano soloists, a two-part women's choir, two horns and an organ in 1795.

Deutsches Hochamt, MH 629

Haydn composed a setting of a different text, "Wir werfen uns darnieder", for choir and organ or orchestra, which was published c. 1800.

Editions

* Johann Michael Haydn: ''Deutsches Hochamt. Hier liegt vor deiner Majestät MH 560.'' Score. ed.

Armin Kircher Armin Kircher (1966 – 12 October 2015) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Life Born in Kufstein, Austria, Kircher grew up in Breitenbach am Inn and completed his matura in 1985 at the College Borrpmaeum in Salzburg. He led the church music ...

Carus Marcus Aurelius Carus (c. 222 – July or August 283) was Roman emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. He died while campaigning against th ...

, Stuttgart 2006, ISMN M-007-09020-3.

Literature

* Barbara Krätschmer: ''Die deutsche Singmesse der Aufklärung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Deutschen Hochämter von Johann Michael Haydn.'' In: ''Singende Kirche'' 33 (1986), pp 11–17, . * Charles H. Sherman, T. Donley Thomas: ''Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806), a chronological thematic catalogue of his works.'' Pendragon Press, Stuyvesant, New York 1993, .

References

External links

* * {{italic title Masses (music) Compositions by Michael Haydn