Johann Sebastian Bach's Lutheran Masses are his four Kyrie-Gloria Masses in F major, A major, G minor, and G major, BWV 233 to 236. They set the Kyrie and Gloria of the Latin Mass and are therefore also called Missa brevis. The complete setting of all parts of the Mass ("Missa tota") consists of the five-part Ordinary: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus with Hosanna and Benedictus, and Agnus Dei. The composition of the Kyrie and Gloria, on the other hand, is known as the "Missa brevis" and, in Protestant church music, as the "Lutheran Mass".
[Start of the Kyrie of BWV 232 in Bach's handwriting]
These masses are sung in Latin - and the question remains why Bach chose Latin. Perhaps he wanted these masses to strengthen his ties with the Catholic King August III, who had just ascended the throne in Dresden. In any case, we know for certain that another mass in the series, the B Minor Mass BWV 232 (which Bach later expanded to ), was dedicated to Augustus in 1733. Bach presented the manuscript to the elector in an ultimately successful attempt to persuade the prince to grant him the title of court composer - Bach received the title of "Royal Court Composer" from Augustus III in 1736. Bach's appointment as court composer was one element in his long-term struggle to gain greater bargaining power with the Leipzig Council.
In these short masses, the Kyrie is a one-movement, three-part choral movement, but the Gloria text is divided into five movements, with choral movements at the beginning and end and solo arias interspersed. The total length is about that of an average cantata, suggesting its practical use in church services.
Like the B Minor Mass, the Small Masses consist almost entirely of parodies, that is, revisions of existing choruses and arias. This required new versions of the vocal parts to replace the original German cantata text with Latin words.
Kyrie–Gloria Mass in F major, BWV 233
For the Missa in F major, BWV 233, scored for horns, oboes, bassoon, strings, SATB, and basso continuo, Bach derived most of the six movements as parodies of earlier cantatas. The opening, a dignified Kyrie, is written in an old style à la Palestrina. Bach composed this Kyrie in Weimar, and in the five-voice first version, the first soprano sings the chorale melody "Christe, du Lamm Gottes. The chorale melody is played by horns and oboes. In "Qui tollis" Bach used the oboe melody "Weh der Seele" from the cantata Herr, deine Augen sehen nach dem Glauben, BWV 102, and for "Cum sancto spiritu" he used the opening section of the cantata BWV 40.
Kyrie–Gloria Mass in A major, BWV 234
For the Missa in A major, BWV 234, scored for flute, strings, SATB, and basso continuo, Bach parodied music from at least four earlier cantatas.
Kyrie–Gloria Mass in G minor, BWV 235
For the Missa in G minor, BWV 235, scored for oboes, strings, SATB, basso continuo, Bach derived all six movements from cantatas as parodies.
Kyrie–Gloria Mass in G major, BWV 236
For the Missa in G major, BWV 236, scored for oboes, strings, SATB, and basso continuo, Bach derived all six movements from cantatas as parodies. The opening is from Cantata 102, while the other two choruses and three arias are from Cantatas 187 and 72. Although adjustments had to be made here and there, the chorus from Cantata 102 was transferred more or less intact. The three lines of text derived from Jeremiah fit surprisingly well into the tripartite Kyrie-Christe-Kyrie invocation.
Video:
BWV 233: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor Hans-Christoph Rademann
BWV 234: Ludovice Ensemble
BWV 235: Netherlands Bach Society - Interviews with bass Peter Kooij and conductor Jos van Veldhoven
BWV 236: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
[Quotes information from the German Wikipedia article "Lutherische Messen" as well as from the website of the Netherlands Bach Society for BWV 233 and 235]
Bach Cantata Index