“Don’t be surprised that I am such a believer,” wrote the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) to his patron in 1887 after he had completed the “Mass in D major”. “But an artist who does not believe does not accomplish such a thing.”
Between personal devotion and artistic maturity
The words show that the “Mass in D major” is more than a commissioned work. It combines deep faith with artistic mastery and marks a special moment in Dvořák’s career – between personal devotion and artistic maturity. For today’s audiences, the “Mass in D major” offers a rare opportunity to experience Dvořák in his most intimate, direct form of expression.
“I dare say that the work has succeeded.”
The occasion for the mass was personal: Dvořák’s friend, the architect and patron Josef Hlávka, had Lužany Castle near Pilsen remodelled and a chapel built. He asked Dvořák to write a mass for its inauguration. The “Mass in D major” was composed in Prague from March to May 1887 – under special circumstances, as Dvořák wrote: “Until then, I had only written works of this kind on a large scale and with large resources. This time, however, I only wrote with modest means. And yet I dare say that I have succeeded in the work”.
Dedication to church music even as a child
Dvořák had a close relationship with church music. As a child, he was impressed by the annual church festivals and mass performances. They awakened his desire to become a “real musician”. He worked as a piano teacher and violist in a private orchestra and was employed as an organist and composer at the parish church of St Adalbert in Prague at the age of around 30.
Dvořák’s third mass is the only surviving one
Dvořák had already written two other masses before the “Mass in D major”: one in B flat major and one in F minor. However, both are lost. There is speculation about the reasons. Some believe that Dvořák was so self-critical that he destroyed early productions himself. His own words speak in favour of this: “When we were supposed to have buchten (a Bohemian pastry, editor’s note) on Sundays, the maid always turned to me with confidence. I always had paper to make a fire!”
A modest musician who achieved world fame
Dvoˇrák was content with little. The Czech composer Josef Bohuslav Foerster (1859-1951) described him as the “modest, quiet organist of St Adalbert’s”. His “Stabat Mater op. 58” made Antonín Dvořák famous from 1880. He soon achieved international renown, particularly in England and the USA. Other sacred works followed, such as the “Requiem op. 89” in 1890 and the “York Te Deum op. 103” in 1892.
“Mass in D major”: from a personal work in the country ..
During his rise to fame, Dvořák performed the “Mass in D major” for the first time in September 1887. However, the setting was anything but a world stage – in a country chapel, with a small choir, soloist quartet and organ. Hlávka’s wife Zdenka sang the soprano part, while Dvořák’s wife Anna sang the alto part. The “Mass in D major” was a work for a friend, not for commerce.
… on the stages of the world, pompously orchestrated
Dvořák’s music publishers refused to publish it: “Nobody buys a mass anymore. And the few organisations that perform the work are not worth the cost.” That was soon to change.
A London publisher showed interest, but wanted a more pompous version. Dvořák revised his work and orchestrated it. In 1893, the new version of the “Mass in D major” was premiered in London to great acclaim. From there, it found its way into concert halls across Europe and achieved similar fame to his other spiritual compositions
compositions.
Today in the original: heartfelt and personal
Today, the Berlin Oratorio Choir performs the original version for chapel and organ – as Dvořák wrote it for his friend Hlávka and his family in the Pilsen region. The work sounds as intimate and personal as it was originally conceived: full of gratitude and faith.
The organ becomes the soloist
What makes it special: The organ performs as an independent soloist. In contrast to the vocal part, it develops its own motifs; some even speak of a “symphonic composition” of the organ part. This distinguishes the “Mass in D major” from many other church music works of the 19th century, which were usually strongly vocal in character and closely tied to the text of the liturgy.
… and conveys Dvořák’s deep gratitude
In its intimately personalised version, the “Mass in D major” expresses Dvořák’s deep gratitude to the Creator. It makes his religious feelings audible – just as he did with the handwritten signature of many of his works. He signed them “Bohu díky”, which means “Thanks be to God”.
