Mozart mass in C minor

[MrHCinDE]

I was looking ahead in our orchestra programme for next year and saw that we'll be playing the Mozart mass in C minor. I'm totally unfamiliar with this, never even heard of it. Most likely I'll be on the alto trombone part.

Looking on IMSLP, the trombone parts look pretty tasty, I will have to do a bit of practice. Has anyone here played it? any tips? It looks very much like an ideal opportunity to get some playing time in on alto trombone. My 36H and alto chops will get a good workout.

One oddity I noticed in the parts in IMSLP is the treble trombone (or trumpet) part. I didn't think I'd ever find a serious application for my soprano trombone...yes, I know, a modern soprano trombone is probably not exactly what Mozart had in mind (or the modern alto/tenor/bass trombone for that matter) but would be a laugh to take it along to a rehearsal and ask the trumpeters to take a break, you know, shown them how it's done.

[BGuttman]

It's not uncommon for the trombones to double the alto, tenor, and bass vocal lines. If you are doing that, make sure not to bury the singers -- it's a good way to get the conductor's animus.

I bet the soprano trombone is intended to double the soprano vocal line. Often this would be done on a cornetto instead. Maybe give one of those to the trumpet players

[EdwardSolomon]

Soprano trombone in Mozart? It’s all a hoax. Ask Howard Weiner.

https://www.scribd.com/document/267537 ... mbone-Hoax

[LeTromboniste]

Aside from the fact that Mozart never wrote for soprano trombone and that the instrument saw extremely limited use, that "treble trombone" part looks very suspicious. For starters, it's only playing in the Kyrie (and the Agnus, but that's not Mozart's, it's a 19th-century completion). Looking at the autograph, there are some entrances of the soprano line marked as with or without trombone, but very inconsistently. This looks like Mozart just wrote generically where the 3 trombones should play or not without paying too much attention to which choral line he was writing it on. It's very clear looking further in the score that there are only 3 trombones. It looks like the Breitkopf editor based his decision on the autograph score only and not on the other contemporary score transcribed from the original individual parts, or the parts themselves, where it is clear that there were only 3 parts, with "Trombone Imo" being the alto part.

[MrHCinDE]

Thanks, does indeed look like things have been somewhat ‚flexibly‘ interpreted with the instrumentation.

Thanks to Bruce for the general note on playing in choral works.

So far there are no takers for someone who‘s played this particular work and would like to share their experience. Does it not appear very often in concert programmes? Like I said in my original post, I‘d never heard of it before, but I‘m an uneducated oaf when it comes to Mozart, amongst many other things.

[BGuttman]

I never played that work, but for a short time I was in an orchestra that was formed to back a choral society and got to play a few of the common choral works in the literature. It was common in the 17th and 18th Century works for the trombones to support the lower choral parts (alto, tenor, bass). Key word here is support -- you supply a foundation of sound on which the singers supply the words. (In more amateur groups you also provide pitch for the singers.) Playing 1st Trombone justified getting my Conn 36H alto since I could float a line out under the altos without burying them.

[HowardW]

So far there are no takers for someone who‘s played this particular work and would like to share their experience. Does it not appear very often in concert programmes? Like I said in my original post, I‘d never heard of it before, but I‘m an uneducated oaf when it comes to Mozart, amongst many other things.

There are a number of different editions. Be sure to get the parts of the edition being used well ahead of time, so you have time to practice. If you don't, you may get a surprise if the choir happens to be using the Eulenburg edition edited by H.C.R. Landon. Landon was a first-rate Haydn specialist, but for some reason in his edition of K. 427 he inexplicably put the first trombone part in treble clef (and the second and third parts in bass clef). The original parts were of course in alto, tenor, bass clefs.

If the choir is good and really has their parts down pat, the conductor might be tempted to take some rather quick tempos, especially in the fugue movements: Gloria (goes up to e2 a couple times), Cum Sancto Spititu, Osanna. Whatever you do, don't stop counting rests: if you miss an entry in one of the fugues, you're out -- you'll never find your way back in. So count, count, count.

Especially if the tempo is very fast, don't try to play the sixteenth notes staccato -- it won't work. Use a light tonguing with the 16th notes grouped in 2s -- listen to the singers whose parts you're doubling and try to match their style.

The trombones are very exposed at the beginning of the Sanctus. Take a look at it ahead of time -- don't underestimate it.

Otherwise, enjoy yourself. It's a fun piece to play.

Howard

[MrHCinDE]

Thanks HowardW, that‘s exactly the sort of advice I was looking for. This forum can be a great resource!