CD 44

Music from Stams Monastery XVIII

The two festive masses recorded here can be counted among de Sylva’s  major  works. They were certainly intended for his immediate sphere of activity at the St Jakob parish church in Innsbruck, and are likely to have been composed after he was appointed choirmaster and conductor around 1760. Both masses are modern pieces on a level with contemporary style. Much of the Baroque era’s spirit had already been cast off, such as the dacapo aria and the dominant contrapuntal setting. Corresponding to the grandeur of their destination they nevertheless still have the touch of something splendid, with  a  powerful  effect.  De Sylva is a master of contrasts and of musical characterization. Among the stylistic means he applies are imposing changes in  tonal  color  and  subtle, empathetic expressive artistry. Textual  passages  strikingly emphasized in this way are the Et incarnatus, Crucifi xus, Laudamus te and the Christe eleison.  The  considerably more intimate impression of these passages is achieved by the  changes  from  the  choir to the soli, from the trumpets to the horns, from the oboes to the fl utes. De Sylva lends a majestic air to the  Kyrie, particularly in the  C Major Mass, and to certain illustrative passages in the extended Gloria and Credo movements. Typical for his masses is that they all end with the Sanctus. As many other composers in the Tyrol also follow this practice, we may conclude that this was a liturgical custom peculiar to the Tyrol at the time. Coloration and sound symbolism are naturally competent stylistic methods for a vocal composition, and de Sylva often makes use of them, e.g. for musically and semantically relevant textual passages such as Et resurrexit, solus, mortuorum and the like.

Track 1, 1:46
Missa solemnis in C-major
Kyrie
Johann Elias de Sylva
(1716-1798)

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