pted as hymns and motets for church use. They are now familiar to
musicians as "Splendente te Deus," "Deus tibi Laus et Honor," and "Ne
Pulvis et Cinis." Nohl says of them:--

"A certain solemnity pervades them such as few of his sacred works
possess, and an elevation of feeling only surpassed in the 'Flauto
Magico.' But the composer has relied on theatrical effect; and thus, in
spite of his graver intentions, we find more worldly pomp than
religious depth in these choruses, which Mozart worked out with all
love and care, even in their most minute details, and which manifest
the thoughtful mood that absorbed his soul."

Davidde Penitente.

The cantata "Davidde Penitente" was the outcome of a work of love. Before
his marriage with Constance Weber, Mozart vowed that when he brought her
to Salzburg as his wife he would write a mass for the occasion and have
it performed there. In a letter written to his father, Jan. 4, 1783, he
says: "As a proof of the fulfilment of this vow, the score of a
'half-mass' is now lying by, in hopes of some day being finished."
Holmes, in his admirable Life of Mozart, says:--

"To exercise his pen in the grand contrapuntal style of church music
was at all times agreeable to him; and he was now free from the local
restrictions under which he had written his numerous masses at
Salzburg, where neither the style, the length of the pieces, nor their
instrumentation was left to his own discretion; hence, making due
allowance for the effect of some few years in developing the composer's
genius, the great superiority of 'Davidde Penitente,' by which title
this mass was in the sequel better known over all the earlier masses,
as well for breadth of style as in true ecclesiastical solemnity."

The "half-mass" which Mozart brought to Salzburg in fulfilment of his vow
comprised only the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Benedictus. The remaining
numbers were supplied from another mass, and in this form the work was
produced at St. Peter's Church, Aug. 25, 1783, his wife taking the solo
part. The original work is described as exceedingly majestic and
beautiful, particularly the "Gratias" for five, and the "Qui Tollis" for
eight-voiced chorus. Jahn says of them that the same wonderful and
mysterious impression of the supernatural conveyed by the most beautiful
numbers in his Requiem characterizes these choruses.

The "half-mass" was destined to und