{{Short description|4 masses by Johann Sebastian Bach}} [[Image:Zamek v Lyse nad Labem.jpg|thumb|Lysa castle, possibly the location of performances of BWV 233 to 236]] Apart from the 1733 Mass for the Dresden court (later incorporated in the Mass in B minor), Johann Sebastian Bach wrote four further Kyrie–Gloria Masses, BWV 233–236. These compositions, consisting of the first two sections of the Mass ordinary (i.e. the Kyrie and the Gloria), have been indicated as Missae breves (Latin for "short masses") or Lutheran Masses.

They seem to have been intended for liturgical use, considering a performance time of about 20 minutes each, the average duration of a Bach cantata. They may have been composed around 1738/39.<ref>Christoph Wolff: ''Johann Sebastian Bach'', 2nd edition 2007. S. Fischer, Frankfurt, {{ISBN|978-3-596-16739-5}}</ref> Possibly they were written for Count Franz Anton von Sporck or performed by him in Lysá (German: Lissa).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxsporck.html |title=Count Frantisek Antonin von Sporck |accessdate=20 September 2010 |publisher=baroquemusic.org}}</ref>

Each of the Kyrie-Gloria Masses is in six movements: the Kyrie is one choral movement (with Kyrie/Christe/Kyrie subdivisions) and the Gloria is in five movements. The first and last movement of the Gloria are also choral, framing three arias for different voice types. The music consists mostly of parodies of earlier cantata movements.<ref name="LCM">{{cite web |url=http://www.aucx96.dsl.pipex.com/Lbsdb/LBSDB_LC_INTRO.html |title=Bach's Latin Church Music |author=Margaret Steinitz |accessdate=16 September 2010 |publisher=London Bach Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715085014/http://www.aucx96.dsl.pipex.com/Lbsdb/LBSDB_LC_INTRO.html |archive-date=15 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bach changed the music slightly to adjust to the Latin words, but kept the original instrumentation. For instance, the opening chorus of ''Es wartet alles auf dich'', BWV 187, became the final movement of the Missa in G minor, ''Cum sancto spiritu''. Occasionally he switched a voice part, for example he asked for a tenor in the ''Qui tollis'' of that Missa, a parody of the soprano aria ''Gott versorget alles Leben'' of that cantata.

==History== {{see also|Bach's church music in Latin|Missa brevis#Kyrie–Gloria Masses}} {{expand section|date=March 2018}}

==Compositions== ===<span id="BWV 233">Kyrie–Gloria Mass in F major, BWV 233</span>=== For the {{lang|la|Missa}} in F major, BWV 233, scored for horns, oboes, bassoon, strings, SATB, and basso continuo, Bach derived most of the six movements from earlier cantatas as parodies.<ref name="BWV1998p234–250">{{in lang|de}} {{Wikicite|reference=Schmieder, Wolfgang, Alfred Dürr, and Yoshitake Kobayashi (eds.). 1998. ''Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis: Kleine Ausgabe (BWV<sup>2a</sup>)''. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. {{ISBN|978-3765102493}}|ref={{harvid|Schmieder, Dürr, and Kobayashi|1998}}}}, pp.&nbsp;234–250</ref> The first movement derives from Kyrie "Christe, du Lamm Gottes" in F&nbsp;major, BWV 233a, which may have been performed for the first time on Good Friday, 6 April 1708.<ref name="BDW0292">Work {{BDW|0292}} at Bach Digital website.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" |- style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" ! No. ! Title ! Voice ! Base |- | &nbsp; 1 | ''{{lang|grc|Kyrie eleison – Christe eleison – Kyrie eleison}}'' | Chorus | BWV 233a |- | &nbsp; 2 | ''{{lang|la|Gloria in excelsis}}'' | Chorus | |- | &nbsp; 3 | ''{{lang|la|Domine Deus}}'' | Bass | possibly BWV Anh. 18/6<ref>{{in lang|it}} Alberto Basso. ''Frau Musika: La vita e le opere di J. S. Bach'', Volume 2: [https://books.google.com/books?id=sX_Fr3lj7pMC ''Lipsia e le opere de la maturità (1723–1750)''.] Turin: EDT, 1983. {{ISBN|88-7063-028-5}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sX_Fr3lj7pMC&pg=PA518 p.&nbsp;518]</ref> |- | &nbsp; 4 | ''{{lang|la|Qui tollis}}'' | Soprano | BWV 102/3 |- | &nbsp; 5 | ''{{lang|la|Quoniam}}'' | Alto | BWV 102/5 |- | &nbsp; 6 | ''{{lang|la|Cum sancto Spiritu}}'' | Chorus | BWV 40/1 |}

===<span id="BWV 234">Kyrie–Gloria Mass in A major, BWV 234</span>=== For the {{lang|la|Missa}} in A major, BWV 234, scored for flute, strings, SATB, and basso continuo, Bach parodied music from at least four earlier cantatas.<ref name="BWV1998p234–250" />

{| class="wikitable" |- style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" ! No. ! Title ! Voice ! Base |- | &nbsp; 1 | ''Kyrie eleison – Christe eleison – Kyrie eleison'' | Chorus | |- | &nbsp; 2 | ''Gloria in excelsis'' | Chorus | BWV 67/6 |- | &nbsp; 3 | ''Domine Deus'' | Bass | |- | &nbsp; 4 | ''Qui tollis'' | Soprano | BWV 179/5 |- | &nbsp; 5 | ''Quoniam'' | Alto | BWV 79/2 |- | &nbsp; 6 | ''Cum sancto Spiritu'' | Chorus | Vivace part: BWV 136/1 |}

===<span id="BWV 235">Kyrie–Gloria Mass in G minor, BWV 235</span>=== For the {{lang|la|Missa}} in G minor, BWV 235, scored for oboes, strings, SATB, basso continuo, Bach derived all six movements from cantatas as parodies.<ref name="BWV1998p234–250" />

{| class="wikitable" |- style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" ! No. ! Title ! Voice ! Base |- | &nbsp; 1 | ''Kyrie eleison – Christe eleison – Kyrie eleison'' | Chorus | BWV 102/1 |- | &nbsp; 2 | ''Gloria in excelsis'' | Chorus | BWV 72/1 |- | &nbsp; 3 | ''Gratias'' | Bass | BWV 187/4 |- | &nbsp; 4 | ''Domine Fili'' | Alto | BWV 187/3 |- | &nbsp; 5 | ''Qui tollis'' – ''Quoniam'' | Tenor | BWV 187/5 |- | &nbsp; 6 | ''Cum sancto Spiritu'' | Chorus | BWV 187/1 |}

===<span id="BWV 236">Kyrie–Gloria Mass in G major, BWV 236</span>=== For the {{lang|la|Missa}} in G major, BWV 236, scored for oboes, strings, SATB, basso continuo, Bach derived all six movements from cantatas as parodies.<ref name="BWV1998p234–250" />

{| class="wikitable" |- style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" ! No. ! Title ! Voice ! Base |- | &nbsp; 1 | ''Kyrie eleison – Christe eleison – Kyrie eleison'' | Chorus | BWV 179/1 |- | &nbsp; 2 | ''Gloria in excelsis'' | Chorus | BWV 79/1 |- | &nbsp; 3 | ''Gratias'' | Bass | BWV 138/5 |- | &nbsp; 4 | ''Domine Deus'' | Soprano, alto | BWV 79/5 |- | &nbsp; 5 | ''Quoniam'' | Tenor | BWV 179/3 |- | &nbsp; 6 | ''Cum sancto Spiritu'' | Chorus | BWV 17/1 |}

==Reception== {{expand section|date=March 2018}} In 1818 the Missa in A&nbsp;major, BWV&nbsp;234, was one of a very few of Bach's compositions for voices and orchestra to appear in print prior to the Bach Gesellschaft complete edition in the second half of the 19th century.<ref name="Terry1920pxvii">Charles Sanford Terry. "Introduction" of ''Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work''. London: Constable (1920), [https://archive.org/stream/johannsebastianb00forkuoft#page/n21/mode/1up p.&nbsp;xvii]</ref>

==Discography==

*''J.S. Bach: Missae Breves'', Hans Grischkat, Schwäbischer Singkreis Stuttgart, Ton-Studio Orchestra Stuttgart, Agnes Giebel, Lotte Wolf-Matthäus, Werner Hohmann, Franz Kelch, Renaissance / Baroque Music Club early 1950s? *''J.S. Bach: Masses'', Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Elisabeth Speiser, Ingeborg Ruß, John van Kesteren, Gerhard Faulstich, Jakob Stämpfli, Intercord 1967 *''J.S. Bach: Missae Breves'', Kurt Redel, Helmut Winschermann, Agnes Giebel, Gisela Litz, Hermann Prey, Elly Ameling, Birgit Finnilä, Theo Altmeyer, William Reimer, Philips 1965, 1970 *''Bach: Messen BWV 233-236'', Martin Flämig, Dresdner Kreuzchor, Dresdner Philharmonie, Renate Krahmer, Annelies Burmeister, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Eterna 1972 — re-issued Brilliant Classics 99361/3 and 4 *''The Great Choral Masterpieces'', Peter Schreier, RIAS Kammerchor, Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Barbara Bonney, Birgit Remmert, Rainer Trost, Olaf Bär, Philips 1991 *''J.S. Bach: Missae Breves BWV 233-236'', Patrick Peire, Capella Brugensis, Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Greta De Reyghere, Wilke te Brummelstroete, James Gilchrist, Jan van der Crabben, Eufoda 2000 *''J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 22'', Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Johannette Zomer, Bogna Bartosz, Jörg Dürmüller, Klaus Mertens, Antoine Marchand 2005 *''Bach: Lutheran Masses, BWV 233-236'', Thomas Folan, Publick Musick, Anne Harley, Andrea Folan, Miranda Loud, Pablo Bustos, Max van Egmond, Eufoda 2005 *''Bach: Masses, BWV 233-236 & Sanctus, BWV 238, Philippe Herreweghe & Collegium Vocale Gent, EMI Records Ltd/Virgin Classics 2010''

==References== <references />

==External links== * {{IMSLP2|work=Template:Masses_and_Magnificats_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian)|cname=Masses and Magnificats by Johann_Sebastian Bach}} * [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-233 Missa in F major, BWV 233] and [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-235 Missa in G minor, BWV 235]: performances by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)

{{Masses and Magnificats by Johann Sebastian Bach}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyrie-Gloria masses, BWV 233-236}} Category:Masses by Johann Sebastian Bach Category:1738 compositions