Conducted by Jos van Veldhoven, the powerful “Great” Mass in C Minor offers Mozart at the height of his brilliance. A work of mysterious origins, the music is a layered, shimmering tapestry. Moods shift constantly, sometimes dazzling, sometimes movingly somber. Left unfinished at Mozart’s death, the mass is lovingly and studiously reimagined by OBF artistic partner designate van Veldhoven.
Following the unfinished Mass in C Minor, van Veldhoven will continue the July 5 concert with Handel’s Sinfonia from Israel in Egypt, “Hallelujah” from Messiah, and Overture to Alexander’s Feast. Mozart’s Prelude and Fugue and Agnus Dei from Litaniae laurentanae come next, with Bach’s Dona nobis pacem from Mass in B Minor closing the program.
Jos van Veldhoven conducts Dona nobis pacem from Mass in B Minor, the final work in his reimagining of Mozart: Mass in C Minor
Q: Why did you want to program “Mozart: Mass in C Minor” for OBF 2024?
Jos: The “Great” Mass in C Minor is an overwhelming, grand masterpiece written by Mozart during the period when he was completely captivated by the music of Bach and Handel. Like the Requiem, Mozart never completed the work. But the music is almost the opposite of that of the Requiem: full of fire and energy, festive too.
Q: How do we know the Mass is incomplete and not as Mozart intended?
Jos: An original and complete score has not survived. The second half of the Credo and Agnus Dei are missing. Also, Mozart did not complete large parts of the instrumentation. Therefore, a reconstruction is necessary, and Clemens Kemme has done this brilliantly: often with the influences that Bach and Handel had on Mozart in mind.
Q: Why did you complete the Mass using the specific pieces you did?
Jos: I thought it would be a nice idea to supplement the incomplete Mass with compositions by the composers who strongly influenced Mozart while composing it: Bach and Handel. Mozart even quotes the famous “Hallelujah” from Messiah in the Gloria. And the arrangement of one of the Fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier shows how much Mozart was engaged with Bach’s style.
Q: What should the audience listen for during the concert?
Jos: All lovers of the music of the Baroque and Classical periods will get their money’s worth! Mozart knows how to find an ideal balance between the different styles and still create a unique masterpiece. Perhaps he was thinking of Bach’s great Mass in B Minor which was also never performed during Bach’s lifetime. Listen to the double choruses, the use of trumpets and timpani, the fugues and the harmonies that seem straight out of works by Bach and Handel.
Q: What do you hope the audience takes from the performance?
Jos: We are quick to categorize composers: Baroque, Classical Era, Romantic, etc. But music history is more complicated: Bach studies Palestrina, Mozart studies Bach, Brahms learns from Schütz and Stravinsky edits Pergolesi. There are really no boundaries! I hope the audience experiences how limitless Mozart can think.
Read more about “Mozart: Mass in C Minor” on our page dedicated to 2024 program notes.
Mark your calendars for this exciting concert on July 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall! Tickets may be purchased at OregonBachFestival.org.