Thursday 3 June 2010

Mozart Vespers K339

Can anyone shed light on the given title to this work - 'Vesperae solennes de confessore'
Its the 'confessore' bit that puzzles me. My basic Latin tells me this is one word for priest and I fully understand that up until the time of Mozart and Pope Benedict 14th, Vespers would have been sung exclusively by those ordained. So, in the light of the relaxation by Benedict and Archbishop Colloredo of Vienna, to allow secularisation of some religious music, would Mozart ascribe this work as being that of 'a priest'?
I've not been able to track this down in any reference book, but perhaps there's someone out there that does know??
As for the rest of the Latin text - I can manage to follow most of Psalms 110-113 and part 117, and of course the Magnificat - but if anyone does have a definitive translation it might be helpful to further understand the text we're singing.