Cambridge Music Handbooks Janácek: Glagolitic Mass

In this fascinating description of Janacek's most important works The Glagolithic Mass and its history, Paul Wingfield brings together information on all significant aspects of the work, including much that is new. In particular he quotes important letters from and to the composer which have never previously been published. The Glagolitic Mass, written between 1926 and 1927, is not only one of Janácek's most important works: it is also a masterpiece of the twentieth-century choral repertoire. In this fascinating account of the work and its history, Paul Wingfield brings together material from early articles and reviews, letters and manuscripts which form a comprehensive account of the work's genesis and performance history. The author also provides a thorough revision of the Old Church Slavonic text along with English translation, and reconstructs Janácek's 'ideal' version of the work - far more exciting than the less adventurous rearrangement currently performed. Chapters on the music itself offer a full synopsis of the Glagolitic Mass, an in-depth discussion of its musical organisation and a selection of key interpretations of the piece by Janácek and others.