After returning from his second visit to England Haydn - at the time
generally considered the greatest composer in Europe – predominantly
confined himself to the composition of large-scale works. Among them were
the six masses which today are very much part of the standard repertoire of
classical choral music. They were the result of an obligation to write a
mass every year for the celebrations of the name-day of Marie Hermenegild,
wife of his employer Prince Nicolaus II of Esterházy. The Nelson Mass was
the third, and Haydn composed it shortly after having completed his oratorio
Die Schöpfung.
The Mass was originally called
Missa in Angustiis which can be
translated as Mass in times of trouble or fear. Why exactly Haydn gave this
name is not quite clear. Scholars have suggested several explanations. The
best-known and most popular is that it was inspired by political
circumstances: the threat to the Habsburg empire by Napoleon. Although this
threat was repelled when the British admiral Lord Nelson won the Battle of
the Nile (1-3 August 1798) Edward Higginbottom, in his liner-notes, points
out that this news probably only reached Vienna after the completion of this
mass. There are other explanations. Haydn was exhausted after completing
Die Schöpfung and his precarious state of health at the time may
have made him give this title to his mass. Then there is another option: the
state of the music in the Esterházy household. The Prince had disbanded his
wind band, and for this mass Haydn had to confine himself to parts for
trumpet and timpani in addition to the strings.
Today this mass is best-known as
Nelson Mass. Again there are
various explanations as to when and how his name became associated with it.
Some suggest that the dramatic character of this mass, and especially the
extended role of the trumpets and timpani in the Kyrie and the latter part
of the Sanctus gave food for this connection. This work became associated
with the Admiral when he visited the Esterházy court in Eisenstadt in 1800,
and attended a performance of the mass.
The role of the trumpets and timpani is even more striking because of the
lack of woodwind and horns. This seems to be partly compensated for by the
part for an organ whose chords in the right hand may be meant as a
substitute for the woodwind. Haydn played this part himself in the first
performance. However, throughout the mass its role is rather limited.
The soprano vocal part is remarkable. In masses of the time the soloists
mostly play a modest role, and are sometimes used as a 'small
choir' to create contrasts. Here the soprano has been given a
virtuosic role, not unlike that of an opera star. In some performances that
is exposed by a very operatic way of singing, with heavy vibrato and all.
That was certainly not Haydn’s intention. The solo voices are always part of
the ensemble, and should blend with each other and with the choir. That is
guaranteed here as the four soloists are all members of the choir. There is
no lack of technical brilliance in Jonty Ward’s performance. His singing is
nothing short of miraculous but at the same time he is very much part of a
whole. This performance is a team effort, and that gives it a great amount
of coherence. That comes to the fore, for instance, in 'Qui tollis
peccata mundi' (Gloria) where Haydn juxtaposes a bass solo and the
choir. Tom Edwards gives a beautiful account of his part, but never moves
away from the choir. The same goes for the short interventions of the
soprano which perfectly merge into the tutti.
In between the Credo and the Sanctus Higginbottom has inserted the chorus
Insanae et vanae curae, where in the liturgy the Offertory is
performed. It is included as an independent work in the Haydn catalogue but
was originally part of Haydn's oratorio
Il ritorno di Tobia.
Whether in its present form it is from Haydn's pen is not sure, but
Higginbottom believes that stylistically it fits the Mass well and its
content is also suitable. The opening line says: "Deluded and vain
worries assault the mind." In order to create increased coherence the
scoring has been adapted to that of the Mass. The parts of the woodwind and
the horns are taken by the organ.
If we look at this recording from the perspective of
'authenticity' the picture is mixed. First of all, all-male
choirs were probably very much the standard at the time, and it seems likely
that Haydn's masses were performed by such a choir. I have no access
to the books by H.C. Robbins Landon, and therefore can't check
whether he gives any information about the forces of the first performance.
The Wikipedia article on this Mass suggests two female sopranos who could
have taken the solo role. As admirable as Jonty Ward's singing is -
and I enjoyed it much more than other recordings with a female soprano - it
seems hardly in line with the historical circumstances. The adaptation of
the orchestral scoring of the motet
Insanae et vanae curae is
questionable. A composer adapting his score to different circumstances is
one thing, a modern interpreter doing the same another. However, Haydn
himself seems to have had a rather 'liberal' approach to the
way his music was treated as can be concluded from, for instance, his
attitude towards various arrangements of the
Sieben Worte.
As far as the performance is concerned, there is hardly anything to
complain about. The choir is excellent, and so is the orchestra. The key
moments in this mass are well worked out. The soloists all do a very good
job; only on a couple of occasions did I find Tom Edwards a bit weak on the
lowest notes of his solo in 'Qui tollis'. So, setting aside
the historical considerations mentioned above, this is a very good recording
of one of Haydn's masterworks. I am sure I shall return to it, and it
would be interesting to see other masses performed by these forces.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
