17 SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 5

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)

NICOLAI MASS (1772)

Scored for: two oboes, bassoon, two horns, organ and strings Performance time: 27 minutes

First Grant Park Orchestra performance

Among the great composers of the classical period was Austrian Franz Joseph Haydn. His symphonies and chamber pieces have certainly formed the cornerstone of many concert programs. In particular, he is credited with further establishment of the style exhibited in the symphonies and string quartets of the time. His choral mass settings like the Lord Nelson Mass and his oratorios The Creation and The Seasons have all remained popular staples in the choral literature.

Often referred to as the Nicolaimesse or Missa Sancti Nicolai, this setting of the mass is believed to have been composed in 1772 with revisions in 1802. A traditional setting of the mass, the work was written for chorus, vocal soloists, two oboes, two horns, strings and organ, later adding trumpets and timpani. This sixth setting of the mass had great significance for Haydn: The bulk of his career was spent as musician and Kapellmeister in the court of the famously wealthy Esterházy family. This mass in particular was composed in celebration of the name day of his patron Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, who kept music central to palace life.

First performed close to the season of Advent, musically the work has a lilting quality. Because of this, it is often referred to as the 6/8 mass. In the beginning, you hear the vocal soloists prominently in the Kyrie solely with the string accompaniment, followed by the entrance of the choir shortly thereafter. There is a buoyant feeling created by the strings that lends itself to a sense of stately grandeur. Much of the heavy lifting in this work is centered around the vocal soloists, who are featured throughout. The listener will also find that many of the themes or melodies in the opening Kyrie return in the Agnus Dei, restated in the Dona Nobis Pacem with a feeling of peaceful resolve.

Nicolai Mass

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Soloists and Chorus Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy Soprano and Chorus

Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father

Almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

Quoniam tu solus Sanctus. Tu solus

Dominus. Tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis. For thou only art holy; thou only art the

Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Chorus

I believe in one God, the Father almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord,

Jesus Christ,

Only begotten Son of God,

Begotten of his Father before all worlds.

God of God, light of light,

Very God of very God.

Begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father: by whom all things were made.

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: Et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio

Pilato: passus, et sepultus est.

Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum scripturas. Et ascendit in coelum: sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos, Cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem: Qui ex Patre, Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre, et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur: Qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remisionem peccatorum. Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. Soloists And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: And was made man. And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate: suffered, and was buried. Chorus And the third day He rose again according to the scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead: His kingdom shall have no end. And (I believe in) the Holy Ghost, Lord and giver of life: Who proceeds from the Father and Son. Who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified: Who spoke by the Prophets. And in one holy catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead And the life of the world to come. Amen.