The Harmoniemesse in B-flat major by
Joseph Haydn, Hob. XXII:14, Novello 6, was written in 1802. It was Haydn's last major work. It is because of the prominence of the winds in this mass and "the German terminology for a kind of wind ensemble, Harmonie," that this mass setting is called "Harmoniemesse" or "Wind Band Mass". Besides flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in B-flat, 2 trumpets in B-flat, the mass also calls for choir, timpani, strings, and organ, the latter supplying figured bass for most of the duration.
The setting is divided into six movements.
The Kyrie has "the most striking 'introductory' shock in Haydn's late vocal music ... a rather long orchestral introduction ... [with] unceasing contrasts between soft and loud, and the unexpected entry of G-flat, the flat submediant, in the fifth bar." The Agnus Dei makes reference both to the Adagio of
Symphony No. 98 and to
Mozart's Coronation Mass.
The Harmoniemesse was performed at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City for the Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost on 31 May 2009, which coincided with the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death.
