{{unsourced, date=February 2020 ''Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis'' (Mass of the Holiest

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

) in A minor, ZWV 17, is the a vocal-instrumental sacred work, written by

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

Baroque composer

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was rais ...

. It was completed in 1736 as the first of five high masses he wrote in the last ten years of his life.

Description

''Missa Santissimae Trinitis'' is the composition of combined sacred style, which not only divides the liturgy text only according to the conventional Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, but also into shorter parts which form independent musical

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

. In each of them the instrumental grouping, character and style differ. Old and modern techniques are joined, therefore, not only in the sense of changing the individual movements, but they also penetrate each other within. The mass is divided into 19 individual movements. Above all, the choruses reveal the strong influence of contemporary

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

and concerto, and solo

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

s. The solo

s (in Part II, alto, in VI and XV, soprano) are much more extensive than other Zelenka's mass arias of the 1720s. They are introduced by virtuoso

ritornello A ritornello (Italian; "little return") is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. Early history The earliest use of the term "ritornello" in music referred to the final lines of a fourteenth-century madrigal, which were usu ...

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l parts are independent and rich with melodiously flowing solo voices. Similarly, the concertante choruses (Parts IV, IX and XI) are represented with modern ritornellos. The orchestra parts in these movements also are independent and often dominate over the simple

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

chorus. The influence of the concerto structure is revealed in the contrast between solo vocal and choral parts. The opposite pole of the chorus concerto are the massive choral fugues - their dialogue here not only demonstrate the composer's technical mastery, but also illustrate the intellectual depth and significance of the work.

Orchestration

As with Zelenka's other High Mass compositions there are no

brasses A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the pavem ...

in the orchestration, which includes only organ, six

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 regu ...

s, two

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

, two

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

s, bassoon and

archlute The archlute ( es, archilaúd, it, arciliuto, german: Erzlaute) is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the ...

, expanded by two solo flutes and a

chalumeau The chalumeau (; ; plural chalumeaux) is a single-reed woodwind instrument of the late baroque and early classical eras. The chalumeau is a folk instrument that is the predecessor to the modern-day clarinet. It has a cylindrical bore with ei ...

Structure

* Kyrie ** I Kyrie eleison I (Coro) ** II Christe eleison (Aria, Alto solo) ** III Kyrie eleison II (Coro - Fuga) * Gloria ** IV Gloria in excelsis Deo (Coro e soli

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 harm ...

) ** V Qui tollis peccata mundi (Coro) ** VI Quoniam tu solus Sanctus (Aria, Soprano solo) ** VII Cum sancto Spiritu I (Coro) ** VIII Cum sancto Spiritu II (Coro - Fuga) * Credo ** IX Credo in unum Deum (Coro e soli SATB) ** X Et incarnatus est (Coro) ** XI Et resurrexit (Coro e solo Tenore) ** XII Et unam sanctam...Ecclesiam (Soli - SAT) ** XIII Et vitam venturi saeculi (Coro - Fuga) * Sanctus ** XIV Sanctus (Coro) ** XV Benedictus (Aria, Soprano solo) ** XVI Osanna in excelsis (Coro) * Agnus Dei XVII. Agnus Dei I (Soli: Tenore e Basso) XVIII. Agnus Dei II (Coro) XIX. Dona nobis pacem (Coro - Fuga)

Recordings

* ''Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis'' by

Musica Florea Musica Florea is a Czech Baroque music ensemble in Prague, founded in 1992 by conductor and cellist Marek Štryncl. Profile The group of young professionals with a common interest in the study and authentic performance of Baroque music engag ...

, CD, Studio Matouš, 1994 * ''Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis ZWV 17'', ''Gaude laetare ZWV 168'' by Ensemble Inégal, Prague Baroque Soloists (Adam Viktora), CD, Nibiru, 2012 Missa Santissimae Trinitatis 1736 compositions