Mass in B minor

Precisely what Bach had in mind while composing the B Minor Mass remains one of the intriguing mysteries of music. Bach, born into a Lutheran family, remained a Lutheran throughout his life 1, could not have written a mass meant for the Catholic Church alone. Yet he wrote a Mass Ordinary in Latin, complete with all its sections, which is unique to the Roman Catholic Churches during Bach¡¦s time as the Latin Ordinary had long since been replaced by German equivalents in most other Lutheran congregations.2

Instead of performing the entire Catholic mass, the Missa, which contained only the Kyrie and Gloria, were often used in Protestant churches. However, Luther had retained not only the Kyrie and Gloria in excelsis, but also the Credo, and Sanctus movements of the Catholic Ordinarium Missae for use in Protestant churches. Thus, in Leipzig, performances of the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, and Sanctus were not uncommon during Bach's lifetime 3, which may explain why Bach¡¦s Mass contained ...