Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) composed a significant number of liturgical choral works, including several shorter pieces that deserve recognition in the American choral canon. Before moving permanently to Vienna in 1781, Mozart’s liturgical output included mass settings and movements, four litanies, two vesper settings, and numerous shorter sacred works composed for various occasions. It is my hope that this conductor’s guide will offer assistance to the conductor wishing to learn more about selected short, pre-Viennese liturgical works of Mozart. The works addressed in this guide are Quaerite primum regnum Dei, KV 86, three settings of Regina coeli (KV 108, 127, and 276), Scande coeli limina, KV 34, Benedictus sit Deus, KV 117, Inter natos mulierum, KV 72, Misericordias Domini, KV 222, Venite populi, KV 260, Alma Dei creatoris, KV 277, Veni Sancte Spiritus, KV 47, Te Deum, KV 141, Miserere, KV 85, two settings of Tantum ergo (KV 142 and 197), and Sancta Maria, mater Dei, KV 273.
The conductor’s guide addresses the historical and liturgical contexts of eighteenth-century liturgical practice, both in greater Austria as well as Salzburg, in addition to addressing the relationship between the Mozart family and the Archbishops of Salzburg. Issues of authenticity offer assistance for the conductor wishing to learn more about the validity of these works within Mozart’s oeuvre, followed by a thorough analysis of each piece, including text source, liturgical function, formal design, melodic and harmonic treatment, motivic connection and integration, as well as detailed suggestions regarding the rehearsal and performance strategies. The inclusion of an IPA appendix in Church and German Latin, as well as current discography and score availability provides the conductor with all the resources necessary to successfully perform these works.
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