Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

composed four

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''wikt:litania, litania'' from Ancient Greek wikt:λιτα ...

in his service as a church musician for the

Salzburg Cathedral Salzburg Cathedral () is the seventeenth-century Baroque architecture, Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in the city of Salzburg, Austria, dedicated to Rupert of Salzburg, Saint Rupert and Vergilius of Salzburg, Saint ...

, two of which are settings of the Litaniae Lauretanae, the

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Marian litany originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V. It is also known as the Litany of Loreto (Latin: ''Litaniae lauretanae''), after its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of ...

. The other two are settings of the Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento, venerating the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. Mozart composed the works for four soloists, choir, instruments, and continuo. The litanies appeared in

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

's ''

Neue Mozart-Ausgabe The ''Neue Mozart-Ausgabe'' (''NMA''; English: ''New Mozart Edition'') is the second complete works edition of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A longer and more formal title for the edition is ''Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Neue ...

'' (NMA) in 1969.

History

Mozart composed four

in his service as a church musician for the

Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese f ...

., , , , Litanies are prayers repeating acclamations, sometimes in responsory form. Mozart returned from his first Italian journey, begun in December 1769, to his Salzburg position as a ''Konzertmeister'' of the archbishop in March 1771. He composed his first litany, K. 109, dated May 1771, in the spirit of the Italian music he had encountered on his trip. It is a setting of the

Marian litany In Christian worship, Marian litany is a form of prayer to Mary, mother of Jesus used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. In the Eastern Church litanies are always a part of the official liturgy, and they ...

Litaniae Lauretanae (Litany of Loreto, or

). The work requires only a small orchestra of violins and continuo, with optionally trombones playing with the voices, which suggests that it may have been intended for the chapel of

Schloss Mirabell ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

. Mozart structured it in five

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

, similar to a composition of the text by his father Leopold. Mozart completed his second litany, K. 125, in March 1772, between his second journey to Italy and his third. It is a sacramental litany, Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento (Litanies of the venerated sacrament of the altar), venerating the

. The work in nine movements is scored for the same vocal forces, but a rich orchestra with

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

. The work was again modelled after a composition by Leopold Mozart of the same text. The

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...

shows some changes from his hand. Mozart wrote his third litany, K. 195, another Marian litany, in 1774, between journeys to Vienna and Munich. An extended composition with virtuoso writing for soloists, it is one of the Litaniae solemnes performed at the

. Mozart composed another sacramental litany, K. 243, in March 1776. Structured in six movements, it shows that Mozart studied the style of his predecessors at the cathedral, namely a double-fugue by

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohra ...

. He wrote music for solo instruments. Each section of invocations is concluded by a repeat of the beginning. This litany is regarded as his "most extensive contribution" to the genre. Mozart's litanies appeared in

's ''

'' (NMA, ''New Mozart Edition''), a critical edition, in 1969 in series I, part (''Abteilung'') 2/1: ''Litanies'', edited by

Hellmut Federhofer Hellmut Federhofer (August 6, 1911 – May 1, 2014) was an Austrian musicologist. Born in Graz, he studied music there and in Vienna at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, graduating in 1936. In 1937, he became a librarian at the l ...

and Renate Federhofer-Königs. Further prints appeared in 1991 and 2005. Carus-Verlag published the litanies beginning in 2001 as part of the Stuttgarter Mozart Ausgaben.

Litanies

Mozart composed the Latin text of the litanies for soloists, choir, instruments and continuo. The following table lists for each the title, number in the latest

Köchel catalogue The Köchel catalogue () is a catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, originally created by Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, in which the entries are abbreviated ''K.'' or ''KV''. Its numbers reflect the ongoing task of compiling the chro ...

(K.), number in the former catalogue, year of composition, key and number of movements (Mvmts).

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Litanies Lists of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Litanies

History

Litanies

Further reading

References

External links