Drabkin, William (1991) Beethoven: Missa Solemnis (Cambridge Music Handbooks), Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press, 132pp.
Abstract
The Missa Solemnis is a document of extraordinary richness from the last decades of Beethoven’s creative life. In this compendious and accessible guide, William Drabkin considers the work as a musical expression of the most celebrated text of the Roman Catholic faith and as an example from a tradition of Mass settings in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Austria. The opening chapters present various critical perspectives on the Missa Solemnis and chart the history of its composition, first performances and publication. But, above all, the work itself is considered in detail, including the overall design, connections between the movements, the orchestration, word painting and programmatic elements.
• A complete guide to Beethoven’s largest and longest non-stage work and the background to its composition • Full consideration of the tradition of Mass setting • Each movement of Beethoven’s Mass is described in detail and all technical language is explained.
Contents
Preface; 1. Critical perspectives; 2. Composition, performance and publication history; 3. Preliminaries to the analysis; 4. Kyrie; 5. Gloria; 6. Credo; 7. Sanctus; 8. Agnus Dei; 9. Concluding thoughts.
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