Missa brevis in G major (doubtful), K. 140
av Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Missa brevis in G major (K. 140) is a compact setting of the Ordinary, traditionally placed in Salzburg around 1773, when the composer was 17. Its attribution has long been questioned, yet the work survives in performing materials and has continued to circulate—often under the nickname “Pastoral” or Pastoralmesse—for its songful, gently rocking character.
Background and Context
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) spent much of 1773 in Salzburg, supplying church music within the practical constraints of archiepiscopal worship: concise dimensions, clear declamation, and modest forces. The Missa brevis in G major, K. 140 is commonly dated to that year, but Mozart’s authorship remains uncertain; the autograph is lost, and the work is often described in catalogues and reference listings as doubtful or spurious.[1]
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At the same time, some editorial and source-based arguments point in the opposite direction. Modern editions cite early sets of parts (including a Salzburg-area tradition of copying) and even performance materials containing markings ascribed to Mozart, offered as evidence that the Mass may indeed have been known and used under his name during his lifetime.[2]
Musical Character
K. 140 is laid out in the six customary sections—Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei—and in its most familiar form it is scored for SATB choir (with solo/chorus alternation) and the Salzburg “church trio”: two violins, bass line (cello/double bass), and organ.[1][3]
The nickname “Pastoral” reflects what listeners hear immediately: a lilting, often triple-metre sway (notably in the Kyrie and Gloria) and a preference for rounded, song-like melodies over contrapuntal display.[3][2] Within that agreeable surface, sharper contrasts are reserved for structurally weight-bearing moments—particularly the central span of the Credo and the opening of the Agnus Dei—before the close turns more buoyant, in keeping with the missa brevis ideal of clarity and forward motion.[2][3]
[1] IMSLP work page: K. 140/Anh. C 1.12 — authorship note, movements, and instrumentation summary
[2] Bärenreiter US product description for the New Mozart Edition-derived publication — pastoral character and source claims for authenticity
[3] Emmanuel Music notes — Salzburg missa brevis practice, lost autograph, scoring as “church trio,” and pastoral triple-metre traits