The ' (Court mass) is a

missa brevis Missa brevis (plural: Missae breves) is . The term usually refers to a mass composition that is short because part of the text of the Mass ordinary that is usually set to music in a full mass is left out, or because its execution time is relat ...

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor a ...

composed by František Xaver Brixi. The work is a setting of the Latin

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 element ...

for

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part ...

soloists and choir, trumpets, timpani, violins, organ and continuo. It was published by

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 ...

in 2003.

History

František Xaver Brixi, or Franz Xaver Brixi, became ''Regens chori'' (choir director) of Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral in 1759 at age 27 and held the position unto his death in 1771. He was a prolific composer of music for the liturgy, who wrote more than 100

es,

vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meani ...

and

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Marga ...

s, among others. He also composed secular music such as

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s and

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead ...

, concertos and

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

. He composed the Missa brevis in C, a setting of the Latin

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 ...

, for

soloists and choir, 2 trumpets, timpani, 2 violins, organ and continuo. The duration is given as 25 minutes. Karlheinz Ostermann, the editor of the first edition notes its "cantilena" solo melodies, simple themes for the choir, short

fugal In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

passages, and its optimistic mood. Some sources have the name as ' (Court mass), which is also applied to Mozart's Missa solemnis in C, K. 337. The mass was first published by

in 2003.

References

External links

Brixi, Franz Xaver (1732–1771) / Missa brevis in C "Missa aulica"
bodensee-musikversand.de {{italic title Masses (music) 18th-century compositions Compositions in C major