The Mass No. 3 in F minor, WAB 28, is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, and organ ad libitum, that Anton Bruckner composed in 1867–1868.
History
After the 1867 success of his Mass No. 1 in D minor, Bruckner was commissioned "to write a new Mass for the Burgkapelle". Bruckner wrote the first version between Septembers 1867–1868 in Linz (just before his move to Vienna).
The first rehearsals, conducted by Johann Herbeck at the court church, the Augustinerkirche, took place in 1868 or 1869, but "were badly attended by orchestral players" and were "generally unsuccessful". Ultimately, Herbeck found the mass "too long and unsingable". After various delays, the mass was finally premiered on June 16, 1872, at the Augustinerkirche, with Bruckner himself conducting. Herbeck changed his opinion of the piece, claiming to know only two masses: this one and Beethoven's Missa solemnis. Franz Liszt and even Eduard Hanslick praised the piece. A second performance occurred in the Hofmusikkapelle on 8 December 1873. The manuscript is archived at the Austrian National Library.
After the third performance (30 July 1876), Bruckner made slight revisions on the "Kyrie" and the "Gloria", and in 1877 on the "Credo". He made a further revision on the "Credo" in 1881, in preparation for performances at the Hofkapelle, mainly to address "difficulties of execution", but also to take into account what he had learned from studying Mozart's Requiem, correcting some instances of parallel octaves if not justified by Mozart's example. In some later performances, Bruckner was in the organ loft rather than on the podium.
In a letter to Siegfried Ochs of 14 April 1895, the composer wrote: Translation: Bruckner is growing old and would very much like to live to hear the F minor [Mass]! Please, please! That would be the climax of my life. But then much is to be different from the score! In the D major of the Credo: Deum verum de Deo, please, Organo Pleno! Spare not on the registers!.In the 1890s Bruckner was still revising the work, but there were very few changes made to the vocal parts after 1868. At a November 1893 performance of this mass, Johannes Brahms "applauded ... so enthusiastically ... that Bruckner personally thanked him".
The composer dedicated the piece to Hofrat Anton Ritter von Imhof-Geißlinghof at "the last minute". Leopold Nowak, however, believed that the piece was actually dedicated to conductor Johann Herbeck.
Versions and editions
Bruckner make four successive revisions of the work, in 1876, 1877, 1881 and from 1890 to 1893. First edition (Doblinger, 1894), revised by Joseph Schalk; re-edition by Wöss (1924) Haas edition (1944, 1952) Nowak edition (1960) Hans Ferdinand Redlich (Eulenburg, 1967) Hawkshaw new edition (2005)
The first edition of 1894 contained "numerous spurious performance directions and articulations as well as massive reorchestration, particularly of the winds". Bruckner was angry when he saw it in print, and annotated instances of parallel octaves, which he had eliminated in his own revisions.
In 1944, Robert Haas put out an edition as part of the Gesamtausgabe, which was superseded by Leopold Nowak's edition of 1960, and again more recently by Paul Hawkshaw's of 2005. These three editors had access to various manuscripts and contemporary copies. Hans Ferdinand Redlich, on the other hand, did not for his Eulenburg edition, and complained of being denied access by Nowak.
In the current Gesamtausgabe by Paul Hawkshaw the two versions, which Bruckner considered to be the definitive ones, those of 1883 and 1893, are presented, so that the performers are provided with the opportunity to choose between the two versions.
Setting
The work is set for choir and soloists, and orchestra (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B-flat, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F, 2 horns in B-flat, 2 trumpets in C, alto, tenor and bass trombones, timpani, and strings), and organ ad libitum.
The organ, present in the Wöss edition, is absent in the Haas edition, and put "ad libitum" in the current Gesamtausgabe. "The organ serves first of all to accentuate significant passages, in order to increase their sound brightness."
The work is divided into six parts: Kyrie – Moderato, F minor Gloria – Allegro, C major Credo – Allegro, C major Sanctus – Moderato, F major Benedictus – Allegro moderato, A-flat major Agnus Dei – Andante, F minor veering to F major Total duration: about 62 minutes