Musical form and texture in the Austrian mass c.1740-c.1800

This thesis traces the musical development of the Austrian Mass through a study of Mass/Requiem settings by the main composers working at the Imperial Court in Vienna and the Archiepiscopal Court in Salzburg from c.1740 to c.1800. The introductory chapter identifies two different attitudes in terms of musical settings of the Mass by adopting the quotation "music for worship" and "music at worship". The social changes taking place during the period, as well as the musical developments which were reflected in the Mass settings, are outlined also. In Chapters 1-4 the musical development of the Mass in Vienna and Salzburg is traced through the late Baroque and Pre-Classical periods. Chapters 5-7 are concerned with the three main composers of church music during the Classical period. Separate studies of Johann Michael Haydn, Wolfgang A. Mozart and Joseph Haydn reveal their personal contribution to the development of the Austrian Mass in relation to the musical and social conditions pertaining in Salzburg, Vienna and Eisenstadt.