Gloria, from Mass in Time of War

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) is usually thought of in connection to his voluminous output of symphonies: 104 in all, which became some of the defining products of music’s classical era. He also wrote over 80 string quartets, 60+ piano sonatas, and 14 mass settings. These masses were composed throughout his career, though the best-known all date from the late 1790s. Of Haynd’s settings, the Missa in tempore belli or Mass in a Time of War remains one of his finest and most often performed.
The spark for this work’s composition was a state of war preparations undertaken in Haydn’s Austria following the French Revolution. A young French general, Napoleon Bonaparte, was enjoying success against Italian forces, and Austria seemed poised for invasion. At Eisenstadt, the country estate of his patron, Haydn decided to do his part through music, writing a vigorous work that is equally penitent and reflective. The entire work consists of six sections matching the traditional divisions of the ordinary mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei). The four-part Gloria continues the festive full texture set out in the opening Kyrie, and Haydn uses energetic string writing to punctuate moments between phrases of the full chorus. For the Qui tollis we find the first contrasting mood: a tender adagio in major scored for solo bass voice, cello, and strings. As that section closes, woodwinds are heard followed by the hushed chorus. The chorus, in fact, takes on larger importance as the main driver of tonal drama, allowing the bass solo to set its course bravely as a lone voice amidst the tumult. This brilliant Gloria concludes with two of Haydn’s finest sections, both at a faster tempo and lightly contrapuntal, culminating with a brilliant Amen. The Gloria is the mass’ most substantial movement, helping to define all else.
Some regard Haydn’s decision to compose a radiant, joyous mass during this period as an overtly anti-war gesture. This is possible, though it must be remembered that Haydn’s patron, Nicholas Esterhazy, commanded his kapellmeister to write a mass each year celebrating the feast day of the virgin birth, name day of Nicholas’s wife Maria. So whatever his ultimate motivation on a personal level, an employer’s request had to be fulfilled.

(c) Jason Stell