Mass in E-flat (Beach)

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The Mass in E♭, Op. 5, is a choral work by American composer Amy Beach. It was the first mass written by an American woman and Beach's first widely acclaimed large-scale composition. The Mass is a 75-minute work for chorus, quartet, organ, and orchestra.[1]

Composition[edit]

Beach began work on her Mass in E-flat in 1886.

The Handel and Haydn Society premiered the Mass in Boston in 1892.[2] The same group had performed Luigi Cherubini's Deuxième Messe Solenelle in D minor in 1883 and played selections from Bach's Mass in B minor in 1887. There are parallels in overall structure, and in some phrases, between Beach's Mass and Cherubini's.[3] Beach's Mass was not performed again until the 1980s. It has been recorded (see Discography).

The Mass is in five sections: Kyrie, Gloria in 4 movements, Credo in 4 movements, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Written in a Romantic style, the Mass is rich in harmony and tonality. It was praised for its contrast in instrumentation and the solos for harp, cello, English horn, and oboe.[citation needed]

Beach was apparently unfamiliar with how Latin is stressed, as accents in the music may not agree with those in expected in words such as 'altissimus'.[4]

Influences[edit]

The Kyrie

In movements of the Gloria, most prominently in the "Quoniam," Beach uses double-dotted rhythms that also appear in Cherubini's Kyrie.[3] These rhythms give a march-like quality to the movement. They are paired with trumpets and drums to evoke a sense of the Church Militant. Beach's frequently modulates to third-related keys, as in "Laudamus te", in which she uses the keys of E♭ major, G♭ major, E♭ minor, and C major. Beach frequently uses C major to indicate heaven or light; here, it refers to divinity.

Reception[edit]

The premiere in 1892 was reviewed in 27 newspapers, 18 in Boston and 9 "out of town." One criticism was that the opening solo trio in the "Laudamus te" had "pitch and ensemble problems."[5] These may have been due to insufficient instrumental support, or the fact that this was a first performance.[6] In general, critics agreed that the work placed Beach "among the foremost rank of American composers."[6]

One recording of Beach's Mass, by the Michael May Festival Chorus in 1989, was made without a full orchestra. The performance was criticized for inaccurate tempos, inappropriate rearrangements, and overall interpretation.[7] No scholarly reviews have been made of the other recording, from 1995, by the Stow Festival Chorus and Orchestra.

Discography[edit]

  • Amy Beach: Grand Mass in E♭ major. Performed by the Michael May Festival Chorus. Compact disc, 1989, Newport Classic 60008
  • Amy Beach: Grand Mass in E♭ major. Performed by the Stow Festival Chorus and Orchestra. Albany Records, 1995, TROY 179

References[edit]

  1. ^ American Composers.org
  2. ^ H. Earle Johnson, Hallelujah, Amen!: The Story of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston (Boston: B. Humphries, 1965), 162-4
  3. ^ a b Block, 1998, p. 65
  4. ^ Block 1998, p. 67
  5. ^ Block, 1998, p. 70
  6. ^ a b Block,1998, p. 71
  7. ^ Block, 1992.

Sources[edit]

  • Fried Block, Adrienne: Amy Beach, Passionate Victorian: The Life and Work of an American Composer, 1867-1944. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  • Fried Block, Adrienne: "St. Peter: an oratorio and Grand Mass in E♭ Major" (in Record Reviews) American Music, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer, 1992), pp. 229–232. (St. Peter: an Oratorio is a work by John Knowles Paine, 1839–1906)

External links[edit]

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