Missa in d minor

Mikuláš Moyzes completed his Mass in D minor (Missa in d minor) in 1929, twenty-two years after composing his Mass in C major. During this period, not only had the political landscape changed with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but the composer’s artistic aims had also evolved. Whereas the earlier Mass is characterised by contrapuntal writing and stylistic associations with Renaissance polyphony—and thus a distinctly neoclassical outlook—the later work may be regarded as neo-folkloristic, drawing its inspiration not only from Gregorian chant but also from Slovak folk music.

Following its premiere in Prague, the Mass in D minor was added to the repertoire of the Church Music Society in Bratislava. Under the direction of Alexander Albrecht, the Society performed Moyzes’s Mass in C major eighteen times between 1930 and 1946, while the Mass in D minor was presented on five occasions.

The principal difference between the two Masses lies in their scoring. In the Mass in D minor, Moyzes employs pairs of woodwind instruments, expanded by English horn and contrabassoon, together with pairs of horns and trumpets, three trombones, tuba, and timpani. The core of the orchestral texture, however, rests on the skilfully crafted five-part string section. Compared with the Mass in C major, the vocal writing likewise offers a broader range of expressive possibilities. While the work is based primarily on four-part choral writing, solo passages are introduced in deliberate contrast, closely reflecting the character of specific sections of the Mass Ordinary.

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