{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2025 ''Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis'' (Mass of the Holiest

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

) in

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...

, ZWV 17, is a vocal-instrumental sacred work, written by

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

composer

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Bohemian composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was ...

. It was completed in 1736 as the first of five high masses he wrote in the last ten years of his life.

Description

''Missa Santissimae Trinitis'' is the composition of combined sacred style, which not only divides the liturgy text only according to the conventional Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, but also into shorter parts which form independent musical

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 ...

. In each of them the instrumental grouping, character and style differ. Old and modern techniques are joined, therefore, not only in the sense of changing the individual movements, but they also penetrate each other within. The mass is divided into 19 individual movements. Above all, the choruses reveal the strong influence of contemporary

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

, and solo

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

s. The solo

s (in Part II,

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

, in VI and XV,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

) are much more extensive than other Zelenka's mass arias of the 1720s. They are introduced by virtuoso

ritornello A ritornello (Italian; "little return") is a recurring passage in Renaissance music and Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. Early history The earliest use of the term "ritornello" in music referred to the final lines of a fourteenth-century ...

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l parts are independent and rich with melodiously flowing solo voices. Similarly, the concertante choruses (Parts IV, IX and XI) are represented with modern ritornellos. The orchestra parts in these movements also are independent and often dominate over the simple

homophonic Homophony and Homophonic are from the Greek language, Greek ὁμόφωνος (''homóphōnos''), literally 'same sounding,' from ὁμός (''homós''), "same" and φωνή (''phōnē''), "sound". It may refer to: *Homophones − words with the s ...

chorus. The influence of the concerto structure is revealed in the contrast between solo vocal and choral parts. The opposite pole of the chorus concerto are the massive choral

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

s - their dialogue here not only demonstrate the composer's technical mastery, but also illustrate the intellectual depth and significance of the work.

Orchestration

As with Zelenka's other High Mass compositions there are no brasses in the orchestration, which includes only

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, six

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s, two

viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, two

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

and

archlute The archlute (, , ) is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissan ...

, expanded by two solo

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s and a chalumeau.

Structure

* Kyrie ** I Kyrie eleison I (Coro) ** II Christe eleison (Aria, Alto solo) ** III Kyrie eleison II (Coro – Fuga) * Gloria ** IV Gloria in excelsis Deo (Coro e soli

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

) ** V Qui tollis peccata mundi (Coro) ** VI Quoniam tu solus Sanctus (Aria, Soprano solo) ** VII Cum sancto Spiritu I (Coro) ** VIII Cum sancto Spiritu II (Coro – Fuga) * Credo ** IX Credo in unum Deum (Coro e soli SATB) ** X Et incarnatus est (Coro) ** XI Et resurrexit (Coro e solo Tenore) ** XII Et unam sanctam...Ecclesiam (Soli - SAT) ** XIII Et vitam venturi saeculi (Coro – Fuga) * Sanctus ** XIV Sanctus (Coro) ** XV Benedictus (Aria, Soprano solo) ** XVI Osanna in excelsis (Coro) * Agnus Dei XVII. Agnus Dei I (Soli: Tenore e Basso) XVIII. Agnus Dei II (Coro) XIX. Dona nobis pacem (Coro – Fuga)

Recordings

* ''Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis'' by

Musica Florea Musica (Latin), or La Musica (Italian) or Música (Portuguese and Spanish) may refer to: Music Albums * ''Musica è'', a mini album by Italian funk singer Eros Ramazzotti 1988 * ''Musica'', an album by Ghaleb 2005 * ), a German album by Giova ...

, CD, Studio Matouš, 1994 * ''Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis ZWV 17'', ''Gaude laetare ZWV 168'' by Ensemble Inégal, Prague Baroque Soloists (Adam Viktora), CD, Nibiru, 2012 Missa Santissimae Trinitatis 1736 compositions