Mozart Review

             Listening Analysis: Mozart's Mass in C Minor
             Mozart's Mass in C Minor, also known as The Great Mass, is a large multi-movement piece of sacred music. I picked this piece because I particularly enjoyed the part commonly known as "Et incarnates" and I wanted to focus on this solo. The Great Mass was written for both vocals and orchestra, and contains vocal soloists. The entire Mass orchestration consists of a flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, three trombones, a string section, and an organ. The choir consists of four sections, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, and four soloists; two sopranos, one tenor and one bass. The particular section I am focusing on, "Et incarnates," is a solo section for a mezzo-soprano. The orchestration consists of violins, violas, two horns, and an oboe. "Et incarnates" has a ternary form including an intro and a coda. "Et incarnates" has an Andante moderato tempo, which means it was at a walking to medium pace. It sounds very joyous, and the words of praise that are sung reflect this upbeat tempo. It has a 4/4 meter, and that remains fairly steady through all sections. The melody is conjunctive, so the notes are all closer together, almost in a step-like motion. The harmony of "Et incarnates" is consonant, so the pitches blend well with one another, as well as with the melody.
             The intro to "Et incarnates" is orchestration only. It begins with the violins and violas for the first two measures. Then the horns pick up with the same tune that the violins and violas were playing. It is upbeat and has almost a skip-along feel to it.
             The first and third section begins with a mezzo-soprano soloist singing to the same skip-along feel that is in the intro. The violins are in the background and after the soloist is done singing, the violins mimic what she sang. The violins and violas create a b...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Mozart Review. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 18:36, April 25, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/92560.html