The Mass in B minor (BWV 232) is a musical setting (or more formally a missa tota) of the Latin Mass by Johann Sebastian Bach. Although parts of the Mass in B minor date to 1724 (and model for one parody even to 1714), the whole was assembled in its present form in 1749, just before the composer's death in 1750. It is often ranked among the greatest Baroque compositions.
Bach did not give the work a title; instead, in the score the four parts of ...
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The Mass in B minor (BWV 232) is a musical setting (or more formally a missa tota) of the Latin Mass by Johann Sebastian Bach. Although parts of the Mass in B minor date to 1724 (and model for one parody even to 1714), the whole was assembled in its present form in 1749, just before the composer's death in 1750. It is often ranked among the greatest Baroque compositions.
Bach did not give the work a title; instead, in the score the four parts of the Latin Mass are each given their own title page—"Kyrie", "Gloria", "Symbolum Nicenum" (otherwise known as the "Credo"), and "Sanctus, Hosanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei"—and simply bundled together. Indeed, the different sections call for different numbers and arrangements of performers, giving rise to the theory that Bach did not ever expect the work to be performed in its entirety. On the other hand, the parts in the manuscript are numbered from 1 to 4, and Bach's usual closing formula (S.D.G = Soli Deo Gloria) is only found at the end of the...
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