Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote seventeen Church Sonatas (sonate da chiesa), also known as Epistle Sonatas, between 1772 and 1780. These are short single-movement pieces intended to be played during a celebration of the Mass between the Epistle and the Gospel (hence the name that is sometimes attributed to them: sonatas of the epistle).[1] Three of the sonatas (K 263, 278/271e and 329/317a) include more orchestral scoring including oboes, horns, trumpets and timpani and the rest are scored for organ and strings (with no violas). In eight of the sonatas (K 224/241a, 225/241b, 244, 245, 263, 328/317c, 329/317a and 336/336d), the organ has an obbligato solo part and in the other nine, the organ accompanies along with the basso continuo.
Most of these pieces would be inserted into any mass setting of the appropriate key. Those requiring more instruments than the standard "Salzburg Church Quartet" are meant to go with specific mass settings that have that instrumentation.
Shortly after Mozart left Salzburg, the Archbishop mandated that an appropriate choral motet or congregational hymn be sung at that point in the liturgy, and the "Epistle Sonata" fell into disuse.
| No. | Köchel No. | Date composed | Key | Scoring | NMA | Tempo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[2] | K.67/41h | 1772 | E♭ major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Andantino |
| 2 | K.68/41i | 1772 | B♭ major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 3 | K.69/41k | 1772 | D major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 4 | K.144/124a | 1774 | D major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 5 | K.145/124b | 1774 | F major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 6 | K.212 | 1775, July | B♭ major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 7 | K.224/241a | 1776 | F major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro con spirito |
| 8 | K.225/241b | 1776 | A major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 9 | K.241 | 1776, January | G major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 10 | K.244 | 1776, April | F major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 11 | K.245 | 1776, April | D major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 12 | K.263 | 1776, December | C major | 2 violins, 2 trumpets, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 13 | K.274/271d | 1777 | G major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 14 | K.278/271e | 1777, April | C major | 2 violins, cello, bass, 2 oboes, 2 trumpets, timpani and organ | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 15 | K.328/317c | 1779 | C major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 16 | K.329/317a | 1779, March | C major | 2 violins, cello, bass, 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and organ | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
| 17 | K.336/336d | 1780 | C major | 2 violins, organ, cello and bass | (Score/Crit. report) | Allegro |
Notes
edit- ^ Zaslaw, Neal, with Cowdery, William eds., The Compleat Mozart: A Guide to the Musical Works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, pp. 109-112, New York: W. W. Norton, 1990, ISBN 0-393-02886-0
- ^ On July 24, 2011, during the analog shutdown in Japan, HBC Hokkaido, a television station in Hokkaido, played Church Sonata 1 on its analog signal continuously between noon and midnight. Japanese television stations were required to broadcast an analog shutdown notice during that time frame.
External links
edit- Church Sonatas (Mozart): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
