The
Mass in B Minor
Take
the quiz, then click on the link below for the answers.
Bach
wrote
a) lots of Masses in both German and Latin
b) several Latin Masses
c) only one setting of the Latin Ordinary
d) a complete setting of Ordinaries and Propers in Latin
The
first movement of the Mass in B minor written by Bach was:
a) also the last
b) the Sanctus
c) hard to say, since he wrote them all at about the same time
d) thrown in the fireplace and burned
The
number 3 was significant to Bach because:
a) he had 3 wives
b) he started writing music when he was 3
c) 3 represents the 3 persons in 1 God
d) he won a lot of money playing 333 in the lottery
Which
is not an example of Bach‚s use of the number 3 in the Sanctus
?
a) the piece is written in triple meter
b) the orchestra uses 3 trumpets and 3 oboes
c) there are 3 distinct sections to the Sanctus
d) it is in the key of D major, a third away from B, where the
Mass starts.
Martin
Luther:
a) made significant changes to the liturgy when he left the Catholic
Church
b) told Bach to make the B Minor Mass a monumental work to inspire
Lutherans to go to church
c) insisted everything be spoken and sung in German
d) essentially kept the structure of the Catholic liturgy when
the formed the Lutheran Church.
For
composers of sacred music, Ordinaries were more popular because:
a) the texts were used everyday, so their music might be used
often also
b) they could use the same music for a whole bunch of different
texts
c) they had the words memorized
d) the ordinary people could sing along.
Bach
a) called his B minor Mass the "great Mass"
b) was too busy writing cantatas to attend the first performance
of the B minor Mass
c) never heard the entire B minor Mass in one performance during
his lifetime
d) actually did not write the B minor Mass; his son C.P.E. Bach
did
The
Sanctus ends with:
a) a fudge
b) a fugue
c) a big bang from the drums
d) the same way it started, completing an arch form
Bach
uses three oboes
a) only in the Sanctus
b) in many places in the B Minor Mass
c) never; he hated the oboe sound.
d) but only one plays at a time.
Because
the Sanctus has a relatively short text,
a) we can expect the music to be short as well
b) Bach adds a lot of poetry to make it more interesting
c) there is a lot of text repetition
d) there are long passages where the orchestra plays without any
singing
Click
here for the answers.
