Unemployment is a terrible thing—except when it leads to the composition of a masterpiece. In Mozart’s case he was only 23 years old when he wrote his Coronation Mass in 1779, having reluctantly taken up once again the position of court organist and sacred music composer in Salzburg after having failed to find anything more attractive over 16 months of traveling around Europe. He heartily disliked his birthplace Salzburg, considering it to be a backwater, and he also disliked his employer, Archbishop Hieronymous Colloredo. Mozart’s position lasted only two years, at which time the Archbishop decided he’d had enough of his court composer’s frequent absences and disrespectful behavior. Mozart describes in a letter being “kicked in the backside” by the Archbishop’s steward, an act which ended his career in Salzburg. He’d go on to (some) fame and (less) fortune in Vienna, where he would live for only ten more years.
During his time at the Archbishop’s court he wrote only two masses, one of which is rarely performed and the other is the one labeled “coronation” for reasons that remain somewhat murky. Mozart had written about a dozen masses before returning to his native city, but this would be the first one published, and it was probably first performed on Easter Sunday, April 4, in the Salzburg cathedral. He dated the mass’s completion as March 23, so the choir, soloists and orchestra had less than two weeks to prepare. Yikes! (But they were, after all, paid professionals.)
Mozart was working under stringent limitations on the length of church music that had been introduced by Colloredo. Austria, Germany, and indeed all of Europe had been going through a religious upheaval ever since Martin Luther had kickstarted the Protestant Reformation back in 1517. While Austria remained Roman Catholic, there were changes afoot in how worship services were to be conducted. Mozart himself described his task in a letter: “Our church music is very different to that of Italy, all the more so since a mass with all its movements, even for the most solemn occasions when the sovereign himself reads the mass [e.g. Easter Day], must not last more than three quarters of an hour. One needs a special training for this kind type of composition. At the same time, the Mass must have all the instruments – trumpets, drums and so forth.” So how did Mozart solve his problem? Well, he cut and he squished, leaving out any arias or fugues and instead interweaving a quartet of four soloists into the six movements. It is masterful.
I’m going to do some cutting and squishing myself in this post, giving short explanations/translations of the individual sections. The main purpose here is to give you a clear idea of what the words actually say, information that is always helpful in expressiveness and indeed memory.
Kyrie
Kýrie, eléison (Κύριε, ἐλέησον)
Lord, have mercy
Christe, eléison (Χριστέ, ἐλέησον)
Christ, have mercy
Did you ever realize that the Kyrie is actually in Greek? The Latin version would be “Domine or Christe miserere.” You’ll see if you look it up that “eleison” is now considered to be “ecclesiastical Latin,” but that’s only because the word has been appropriated into the Mass. No one is quite sure why this happened, although there is, of course, a plethora of theories on the subject.
As for English words derived from “eleison,” I’m sure you’re familiar with the word “eleemosynary,” meaning “charitable.” Right? That’s the only English word I’ve been able to find that uses the Greek root. Interestingly, there’s at least a theory that “eleo” is the source of “eleison,” with “eleo” meaning “oil” or specifically “olive oil,” a substance used widely in the ancient world as a soothing balm for the skin. You can see the connection, I’m sure. Aren’t words fun?
Mozart is free to improvise in this first movement with repetitions of these two short phrases. He has no need to cram in a lot of text. Don’t worry, though—he’ll make up for the lack later on.
Gloria
Gloria in excelsis Deo,
Glory in the highest [to] God,
Glory to God in the highest what? The typical view of this phrase is that God is to be praised in the highest heavens, but that’s not the correct meaning. Instead, God’s praise should be in the highest extent or the highest degree possible.
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
And in [on] earth peace [to] men [of] good will
Another commonly-misconstrued line, usually rendered something like “And on earth peace, good will to men.” A better translation says, “to those with whom God is pleased.” However, other translations switch the idea around to put the good will in the hearts of people: “Among men who please Him.” You can see that there’s no real difference here. God’s favor is toward those who have turned to Him.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te,
We praise you, we bless you,
Adoramus te, glorificamus te.
We adore you, we glorify you.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Thanks we continually [give] to you because of great glory [of] yours
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis,
Lord God King [of] heaven
Deus Pater omnipotens
God Father Omnipotent or almighty
Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe.
Lord Son only-born or only-begotten Jesus Christ
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.
Lord God Lamb [of] God Son [of the] Father
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Who bears away sin [of the] world
Miserere nobis.
Have mercy [on] us
Suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Acknowledge invocation our
If you see the word “susceptible” in “suscipe” you’re very observant. While the connotation is now sort of negative—someone who’s susceptible to ideas may be easily fooled—that’s not the original meaning. Instead, it’s very much akin to the Psalmist’s words “Let your ears by open to my cry.”
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris,
[You] who sits at [the] right of the Father
Quoniam tu solus sanctus, tu solus Dominus,
Since you alone [are] holy you alone [are] God
Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe.
You alone are the highest and most exalted Jesus Christ
Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris, Amen.
With [the] Holy Spirit in gloria [with] God [the] Father Amen.
Mozart deals with much more text in this section, but it’s just a warmup for what’s to come:
Credo
Since the ideas in this section could fill a whole systematic theology book if explained fully, I’ll confine myself to the usual word-for-word translation with just a few explanations here and there.
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem,
I believe in one God, Father omnipotent or almighty
factorem coeli et terrae,
maker or creator [of] heaven and earth
visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
visible all and invisible
Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
And in one Lord Jesus Christ
Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum
Son [of] God uniquely begotten and out of or from [the] Father born
This line encapsulates what was at one time a big theological disagreement: Did God the Father create the Son, in which case he wasn’t eternal and wasn’t really equal, or were they co-equal, both having existed from eternity? The credo comes down on the second idea; see below for more on this.
ante omnia saecula,
before all time or generations
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero
God from. God light from light God true from God true
Genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri;
Begotten not made of the same substance [as the] Father
More here on the idea of the co-equality and co-eternity of the Son with the Father. I won’t get too far into the Trinitarian weeds here, but there’s a dynamism here that implies a constant interplay between the three persons involved. That hard to pronounce and sing word “consubstantialem” becomes a little easier to deal with once the literal meaning of “with [the same] substance” is clear.
per quem omnia facta sunt.
by whom everything or all things made were
Christian doctrine says that the Son was the creator of the world: “All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:3 KJV)
Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem
Who for the sake of us people or mankind and for the sake of our salvation
descendit de coelis.
descended from heaven
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto,
And made flesh was of Spirit Holy
“Incarnatus” is an interesting word, meaning, literally, “flesh” or even “meat.” Yes, the “carne” in “carne asada” is derived from the same Latin word.
ex Maria virgine; et homo factus est.
from or out of Mary virgin and man made was
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato,
Crucified was for our peace under Pontius Pilate
Brief historical note here: Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judaea at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, and he infamously failed to release Jesus even though he said, “This man has done nothing amiss.”
passus et sepultus est.
died and buried or put into the sepulcher was
Et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas,
And [was] resurrected [on the] third day according [to the] Scriptures
et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris,
and ascended into heaven sat at [the] right [of the] Father
et iterum venturus est cum gloria,
and a second time coming is with or in glory
judicare vivos et mortuos, cujus regni non erit finis
to judge [the] living and [the] dead whose reign not will be finished or ended
Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum,
And in Spirit Holy Lord
et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit,
and life-giving who from [the] Father [and the] Son proceeds or comes
qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur,
who with [the] Father and [the] Son similarly [is] adored
et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per Prophetas.
and with them is glorified who spoken has through [the] Prophets
Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Eccelsiam
And one holy catholic and apostolic church.
Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum,
We confess one baptism in remission or forgiveness [of] sins
et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum,
and expect or look forward to [the] resurrection [of the] dead
et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
and life to come [in the] world or age. Amen.
Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Holy Holy Holy Lord God [of] Hosts
“Sabaoth” has nothing to do with the Jewish Sabbath and instead means “of hosts, of the armies of heaven.”
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Full are heavens and earth [with] glory your
Osanna in excelsis.
Hosanna in [the] highest degree
Benedictus
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Blessed who comes in [the] name of [the] Lord
Osanna in excelsis.
Hosanna in [the] highest degree
Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Lamb [of] God who bears away sin [of the] world, have mercy on us
Here’s an excellent performance that’s worth watching just for the expressions on the conductor’s face:
© Debi Simons
