The St. Francis Mass is the common name for the Missa sub titulo Sancti Francisci Seraphici (catalogue numbers Klafsky I:23, MH 826), a musical setting of the Mass ordinary composed by Michael Haydn (1737–1806). He completed the work on 16 August 1803, apparently at the request of Empress Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily for a name day celebration.
Structure and instrumentation. The mass is scored for a quartet of vocal soloists (SATB), mixed choir, 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, and organ (basso continuo). It is divided into the six standard movements of the Mass ordinary:
- Kyrie — Adagio, D minor, 3/4; Christe eleison (Allegro con brio); Kyrie eleison (D major); Kyrie eleison (Adagio, D minor)
- Gloria — Vivace molto, D major, common time; Domine Deus (Andante, G major, 3/8); Qui tollis (D major); Suscipe (A minor); Miserere (B minor); Quoniam (Vivace molto, D major)
- Credo — Allegro, D major, 3/8; Et incarnatus est (Largo, F major); Et resurrexit (Allegro con spirito, D major, 3/4)
- Sanctus — Andante maestoso, D major, cut time
- Benedictus — Allegretto moderato, D major, cut time
- Agnus Dei — Adagio molto, B minor, 3/4; Dona nobis pacem (Allegro, D major)
Notable features. In the Credo, Michael Haydn sets the word passus ("suffered") using longer note values than had appeared earlier in the movement, a technique that contrasts with the more common approach of other composers who used melisma, syncopation, or suspension to prolong the word.
Publication and reception. The mass was published in 1917 as Volume 45 of the Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich (Monuments of Music in Austria), edited by Anton Maria Klafsky. Unlike Michael Haydn's Requiem in C minor, which remained in liturgical use in Austria into the 20th century, the St. Francis Mass fell out of the repertoire at some point during the 19th century.
