DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (May 23, 2020)
Today's presentation is challenging, but more than worth your time. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is one of the most advanced musical compositions of all time. Yet the composer wrote over the score:
From the heart-may it go straight to the heart
If his idea is clear, then the music becomes intelligible, and lovable; and it does go straight to your heart.
We have already looked at Beethoven's love for the future in the grand finale of the Credo in his Missa Solemnis, and his notion of Gotterfunken (go to April 21, 2020 post)--the divine spark that exists in every human being, that drives that love, in the Ode to Joy movement of his Ninth Symphony. Now let us examine another part of his great Missa Solemnis--his setting of the ancient Sanctus, and his unique and breathtaking representation of that divine spark, or "Holy Spirit" in that movement. As with the Credo, we will treat the religious meaning, and philosophical/ poetic/ scientific meanings as coherent, and intelligible to anyone. But first, some background:
The Sanctus is known in Greek as an epinikios hymnos, or Victorious Hymn. The text of the Sanctus goes as follows:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua.
Osanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini:
Osanna in excelsis.
Which translates into:
Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord:
Hosanna in the highest.
That seems simple enough, but there are some subtleties to it. The first three lines come from the Old Testament, and they envision the Throne of God, surrounded by the highest angels, who sing forth His praises.
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Sanctus means 'Holy", but it can also mean elevated, sublime, and pure, and it is also the Latin word for Saint. The next two lines:
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord
Are from the New Testament, and celebrate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
The whole Sanctus is part of what Catholics and Orthodoxy call the Eucharist, and Protestants call ”Communion”. In the first three, the priest calls on the Holy Spirit to descend from Heaven and transform bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Jesus, so that the congregation may partake in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a Dove descending from Heaven, as was the case in the Baptism of Jesus.
What does this mean?
Almost every musical setting treats the two sections of the text with a change between them. The first three lines are set for full chorus, and with a quality of victory to them. The forth line, Osanna in exclesis, is usually faster, and often set as a short fugue. Starting with the word Benedictus, it becomes, quiet, more personal, and is sung primarily by a vocal quartet. Since the line Hosanna in excelsis repeats in the poem, that music comes back and ends the Sanctus.
Think about what these musical settings are trying to show us about what the poem means: something one is unlikely to grasp from simply reciting it.
1. Early: Again, Beethoven only set the Mass twice. So, for an early version, we will use Mozart's setting from his Coronation Mass. That is legitimate, because it does follow the approach we just identified, as do most of the Sanctus settings of Haydn and Mozart. There is a quality though, in the greatest composers, such as Mozart, that if you had never heard anyone else, you might think it impossible to get any better! In this recording, the Benedictus begins at 2:10. The words are provided in the video
2. MIddle: In his 1808 Mass in C, the background of which we have already discussed, Beethoven takes a very different approach to Haydn and Mozart. His Sanctus is sung by the entire chorus, but starts Adagio, and is hushed and reverential. The recording features the score, to make it easier to follow. It breaks out into a forte on the second line Pleni sunt coeli etterra Gloris tua (1:40 in this recording.) At 2:17 the third line Hosanna in excelsis begins a fugue. After a pause, at 3:00. the long Benedictus section begins as a vocal quartet, that alternates with the full chorus. At 8:58, the fugal Hosanna, comes back and ends the movement.
Join us tomorrow, for the miracle in Beethoven's Miss Solemnis!