Created shortly before his death and premiered over 100 years after its completion: Bach's Mass in B Minor
Mass B minor BWV 232 by Johann Sebastian Bach
1749

Mass B minor BWV 232 by Johann Sebastian Bach
— 1749
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) completed the work in 1748/49 shortly before his death
The mass was first performed in 1859 in the midst of a Renaissance that Bach’s music enjoyed in the 19th century
The original manuscript is a milestone of music history and offers an inside glimpse into the work’s development
Mass B minor BWV 232 by Johann Sebastian Bach
- Kleine Messe B BWV 232 von Johann Sebastian Bach
Short Description
Composed shortly before his death, this rare Latin choral composition by Johann Sebastian Bach is regarded by many as the culmination of his career. The mass would not be performed until more than a century after Bach’s death, but would premiere in 1859 at the height of the 19th century’s so-called Bach Revival. Today it is regarded as one of the finest works in the history of music and is performed in a regular basis.
Mass B minor BWV 232 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) completed the Mass in B minor in 1748/49 shortly after the Art of Fugue and shortly before his death. This late work is as concentrated and rich in compositional technique as scarcely any other. In many ways, it is the culmination of Bach’s musical career because it largely consists of various vocal music that he composed throughout his life, which was revised and combined with newly composed sections. As early as 1818, Hans-Georg Nägeli (1773–1836) enthusiastically described the Mass as the "greatest musical artwork of all time and all nations”. The mass was never performed in its entirety during Bach’s lifetime, and would not occur until 1859 in the midst of a Renaissance that Bach’s music enjoyed in the 19th century. This is perhaps because it takes the form of a Missa tota, a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy in Latin to music, which was unusual for Lutheran composers. Nonetheless, it has since been ranked as an icon of music history, which continues to be performed with regularity to the present day. The original manuscript offers Bach admirers an inside glimpse into the work’s development. This is a wonderful artifact of a milestone in music history.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Kleine Messe B BWV 232 von Johann Sebastian Bach
- Type
- Manuscript on paper
- Date
- 1749
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Artist / School
- Johann Sebastian Bach
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Mass B minor BWV 232 by Johann Sebastian Bach “
Mass B minor BWV 232
- Publisher
- Bärenreiter-Verlag – Kassel, 2010
- Commentary
-
1 volume by Uwe Wolf
- More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
Matching Works
Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu
Once owned by the Rothschild family: a heart-shaped hymn book for a romantic and bishop at the French royal court
Experience MoreMondsee-Vienna music manuscript
A primary work of German secular polyphony: 100 songs by famous composers such as Hermann von Salzburg or Heinrich von Mügeln
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Music / Poetry
Do you feel elevated by monastic chant? Are you a sucker for chivalric love poetry? Music and poetry were among the most...Experience more
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- De Agostini/UTET
- DIAMM
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Egeria, S.L.
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Helikon
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Johnson Reprint Corporation
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- La Meta Editore
- Leo S. Olschki
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lumen Artis
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Manuscriptum
- Millennium Liber
- Nova Charta
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Popyläen Verlag
- Prestel Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Salerno Editrice
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- Styria Verlag
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Yushodo