Date of composition: 1733-1748/49
Premiere: No performance of the complete Mass during Bach's lifetime
Duration: 127 minutes
Performances by the Berliner Philharmoniker:
First performed on 21 March 1885 with the Berlin Sing-Akademie conducted by Martin Blumner
“Preserve us, Lord, in Your word, and restrain the Pope’s and Turk’s murderous plans who wish to cast Jesus Christ, Your Son, from His throne.” How come Johann Sebastian Bach, a committed Lutheran who had set this starkly anti-Catholic text in his cantata Erhalt uns, Herr BWV 126, later composed a complete Latin Mass? Admittedly, Latin was still sung in Protestant services of his time, but mainly in short Mass settings comprising the Kyrie and Gloria, or in independent Sanctus movements. In contrast, Martin Luther had already removed the Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and Dona nobis pacem – sections that reflect the sacrificial aspect of the Roman Eucharistic liturgy – from Protestant worship. A full Mass ordinary therefore had no place in Protestant Leipzig in Bach’s era; it belonged exclusively to the Catholic liturgy.
Yet a performance of the B minor Mass in a Catholic service was equally out of the question. After all, Bach deviated from the codified text of the Roman Catholic liturgy and structured the Mass into four large sections, whereas the Catholic Mass comprises five parts – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. Furthermore, the B minor Mass, with its monumental duration of over two hours, exceeds any liturgical framework, whether Catholic or Protestant. Bach likely composed the work without commission or specific occasion. Most probably, it was never performed in its entirety during his lifetime – a fact that is not, however, very meaningful, as he compiled the B minor Mass only toward the end of his life, probably between August 1748 and October 1749; he died in July 1750.
Most sections of the work, however, are considerably older. The first, a Missa brevis consisting of Kyrie and Gloria, was composed in the spring of 1733. After the death of Elector Augustus the Strong on February 1, a total ban on music-making was imposed throughout Saxony for several months. Bach used this enforced pause to compose the Mass, which he dedicated to the new Elector, Frederick Augustus II. His goal, however – attaining the prestigious post of court composer – was achieved only three years later, after another petition.
The second part of the Mass is titled Symbolum Nicenum, referring to the Nicene Creed, i.e., the Credo. Here Bach drew, among other sources, on the opening chorus of his Weimar cantata Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen BWV 12 from 1714, which he reworked into the Crucifixus. One could say, then, that the composition of the B minor Mass spanned a period of 35 years!
The third part, the Sanctus, originates from Bach’s early years in Leipzig, composed for the Christmas Mass of 1724. The final section of the four-part Mass comprises Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and Dona nobis pacem. These sections largely draw on older models – the Osanna, for example, on the opening chorus of the cantata Es lebe der König (BWV App. 11), composed for the 1732 anniversary celebration of Augustus the Strong. The source for the Benedictus is unknown, but the nearly flawless manuscript suggests that Bach once again relied on earlier music. The Agnus Dei is based on the aria “Ach bleibe doch, mein liebstes Leben” from the Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11) of 1735, while the Dona nobis pacem revisits the “Gratias agimus tibi” from the Gloria, itself already a parody, derived from the opening chorus of the cantata Wir danken Dir, Gott, wir danken Dir (BWV 29).