Bach’s missa bwv 232i in the context of catholic mass settings in dresden, 1729–1733

Abstract

On 27 July 1733 a petition addressed to the Saxon elector Friedrich August II - later August III, King of Poland - was signed and dated by Johann Sebastian Bach. His appeal for a court title was accompanied by twenty-one performance parts for a Kyrie-Gloria setting (Missa). Many uncertainties surround Bach’s offering. Was the work ever performed in the electoral seat of Dresden? Was it typical of Kyrie-Gloria settings heard at that time in Dresden’s Hofkirche? Did Bach have Dresden performers in mind as he compiled the Missa, or was he thinking of musical conditions in Leipzig? An examination of music sources held today in Dresden sheds some light on these questions, as well as on the fate o..