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K. 65/61a

Missa brevis in D minor

This "astonishing" work, Alfred Einstein writes, was written in the "unwonted key" of D minor because it is a Lenten Mass. It was first performed in the Collegiate Church in Salzburg on Feb. 5 for the initiation of the Forty Hours Devotion. Graham Dixon writes: "The chromatic setting of the Benedictus has been singled out for praise. The manuscript of the Mass reveals two earlier, rejected attempts to set this text, before Mozart penned the third version which he may even have added some years later. The Mass conforms to the standard model of the Missa brevis, in which some phrases of the Credo text are 'telescoped'; this means that various sections of the text are superimposed on others in the interest of brevity." Another term for "telescoped" text, of course, is "polytexture," the use of which was frowned upon by a later Archbishop of Salzburg, Count Hieronymus Colloredo. The archbishop at this time, Prince-Archbishop Sigismund, Count Schrattenbach, must have been more lenient.

Recommended recordings:

• Mozart: Masses K. 49, 65, 140, 220 & Church Sonatas, EMI CDC 7 54100 2

References:

• Einstein, Alfred. Mozart, His Character, His Work. New York, 1962.
• Giegling, Weinmann and Sievers, eds. Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichnis samtlicher Tonwerke Wolfgang Amadé Mozarts. 6th edition. Wiesbaden, 1964.
• Sadie, Stanley. The New Grove Mozart. New York, 1983.
• Zaslaw, Neal, and Cowdery, William, eds. The Compleat Mozart. New York, 1990.