MOZART AND THE PRACTICE OF SACRED MUSIC, 1781-91 a ...

It is difficult to say whether the members of the Commission were misinformed or
deliberately disingenuous about the content of the Gottesdienstordnung, but the claim that
instrumental sacred music could be performed in any church that could afford it was simply
untrue – at least in the sense of an unrestricted opportunity to employ it as churches saw fit.
Joseph II’s Gottesdienstordnungen of 1783 and 1786 were still in force, and on that basis the
bishops’ requests were certainly valid “von selbst.”
At the end of December 1790, the minutes were sent to Leopold with an
accompanying note by Baron Kressel. The Emperor was fundamentally in agreement with
the reforming spirit of the Commission, and against the Bishop of Gradiska’s complaint that
the Normalgesang disturbed the people he wrote simply, “Heißt nichts.” Leopold did
however prepare a resolution that addressed, in a limited way, the concerns of the bishops;
see Figure 4.1. Of particular importance is the eleventh point, closely based on the minutes:
Die Hochaemter und Litaneyen werden auch mit Instrumentalmusik gehalten werden können,
wenn das Kirchenvermögen zu deren Bestreitung hinreicht.
Thus, what had been a mistaken belief of the Geistliches Hofkommission was set to become
reality, at least in part. The fundamental changes from Joseph II’s 1786 Gottesdienstordnung
were twofold. First, instrumental settings could be employed for any high mass throughout
the Erbländen, instead of Sundays and feast days in metropolitan churches alone. Second,
instrumental litanies, which had been removed entirely under Joseph, were again permitted.
Leopold’s resolution does not address the performance of vespers, leading in theory to
continuation of the existing policy that permitted only choraliter or organ-accompanied
settings. The wording is very similar to Joseph’s instruction to the commission of 1786, 11
and reflects a continued concern that such music should be funded
11 “Die Instrumentalmusik-Musique kann verbleiben, wenn es aus dem eigenen Vermögen unterhalten werden
kann.”; RGZJ, 163. This instruction, however, was in response to a proposal that Instrumentalmusik be
removed entirely, and only refers to situations where it was already permitted.
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