A revolutionary current runs through Franz Joseph Haydn’s Mass in Time of War (Mass No. 10 in C Major). It approaches the liturgy with a new sense of tumultuous drama, with military fanfares ringing out in the closing movement. The rumbling artillery of its timpani rolls earned the work the nickname, Paukenmesse (“Kettledrum Mass”). In a way which foreshadows Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, the instrumental lines take on new dramatic prominence, rather than simply doubling vocal lines.
While Haydn was writing this music in August of 1796, Napoleon’s army was defeating Austrian forces in battles throughout Italy. France and Austria had been at war, more or less, since the end of the French Revolution, and now there was fear that Vienna itself could soon be under siege. It was Haydn who gave the autograph manuscript the title, “Missa in tempore belli.” A private performance may have been given for Haydn’s employers, the Esterhazy family, on September 13, 1796. The first public performance took place on December 26 of the same year at Vienna’s Piarist Church of Maria Treu.
The Kyrie begins like a symphony, with a slow introduction preceding the main theme. The opening bars are filled with a sense of foreboding. Emphasizing musical form over strict adherence to the text, Haydn repeats Kyrie Eleison (“Lord have Mercy”), and provides only four measures for the following text, Christe Eleison.
The Gloria unfolds in three parts which mirror the traditional symphony: Allegro-Adagio-Allegro. Throughout the middle section, the solo cello joins the bass in a lamenting, extended duet which accompanies the words, Qui tollis peccata mundi (“Who takes away the sins of the world”).
The opening of the Credo erupts with joyful counterpoint, and shifts to a solemn triple meter for the Crucifixus. The movement concludes with a truncated fugue which is interrupted by an elaborate, celebratory coda.
The Sanctus takes a sudden, stormy turn on the words, pleni sunt coeli, and finds a joyful resolution with Hosanna in Excelsis.
The Benedictus is filled with anxiety, with sudden jarring forte accents. With military drumrolls and bugle calls, the liturgy coexists with the ominous sounds of the battlefield.
Haydn said that a soft, persistent drumroll in Agnes Dei “should sound as if one heard the enemy approaching in the distance.” The final line, Dona nobis pacem erupts as a triple meter dance, accompanied by trumpet fanfares and timpani. This is peace achieved at great cost through triumphant military victory.
I. Kyrie:
II. Gloria:
III. Credo:
IV. Sanctus:
V. Benedictus:
VI. Agnus Dei:
Recordings
- Haydn: Mass No.10 in C major Hob.XXII, 9, ‘Paukenmesse’ [Mass in the Time of War], Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Dorothea Röschmann, Elisabeth von Magnus, Herbert Lippert, Oliver Widmer, Arnold Schönberg Chor, Concentus musicus Wien Amazon
- Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
Featured Image: “Napoleon at the Battle of Eylau” (1802), Antoine-Jean Gros
This piece is SO beautiful. First time hearing it for me (and it won’t be the last). I love it. Thank you for this gift!
I read your piece and went to listen to this later on that day. By the time I’d finished I’d bought the cd. Thank you for this series, which has introduced me to many new pieces.