Mass (music)

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This article discusses the Mass as a standard form of classical music composition. For the Mass and its meaning as a part of the Eucharistic liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, see Mass (liturgy) as well as Ordinary of the Mass. For mass as a concept in physics, see mass. For the Requiem Mass, see Requiem.

The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the fixed portions of the Eucharistic liturgy (principally that of the Roman Catholic Church, the Churches of the Anglican Communion, and also the Lutheran Church) to music. Most Masses are settings of the liturgy in Latin, the traditional language of the Roman Catholic Church, but there are a significant number written in the languages of non-Catholic countries where vernacular worship has long been the norm. For example, there are many Masses (often called "Communion Services") written in English for the Church of England.

Masses can be a cappella, for the human voice alone, or they can be accompanied by instrumental obbligatos up to and including a full orchestra. Many Masses, especially later ones, were never intended to be performed during the celebration of an actual mass.

Form of the Mass

Generally, for a composition to be a full Mass, it must contain the following six sections, which together constitute the Ordinary of the Mass:

I. Kyrie

The Kyrie is the first movement of a setting of the Ordinary of the Mass:

Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison (Κυριε ελεησον; Χριστε ελεησον; Κυριε ελεησον)
Lord have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

Kyrie movements often have a structure that reflects the concision and symmetry of the text. Many have a ternary (ABA) form, where the two appearances of the phrase "Kyrie eleison" are comprised of identical or closely related material and frame a contrasting "Christe eleison" section. Or AAABBBCCC' form is also found later on. Famously, Mozart sets the "Kyrie" and "Christe" texts in his Requiem Mass as the two subjects of a double fugue.

II. Gloria

The Gloria is a celebratory passage praising God and Christ:

Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise You, we bless You, we adore You, we glorify You, we give thanks
propter magnam gloriam tuam, Domine Deus, Rex caelestis [coelestis], Deus Pater omnipotens.
to You for Your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God the Father.
Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi,
Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who taketh away the sins of the world,
miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Have mercy on us; You who take away the sins of the world, hear our prayers. Who sits at the right hand of the Father, have mercy upon us.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
For You are the only Holy One, the only Lord, the only Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

In Mass settings (normally in English) composed for the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer liturgy, the Gloria is commonly the last movement, because it occurs in this position in the text of the service. In Order One of the newer Common Worship liturgy, however, it is restored to its earlier place.

III. Credo

The longest text of the Mass, this is a setting of the Nicene Creed:

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem,
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty
factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible:
Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.
the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds;
Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero,
God of God, Light of Light, very [true] God of very [true] God;
genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri;
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,
per quem omnia facta sunt.
by Whom all things were made;
Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven, and became man.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man:
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est,
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried:
et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas,
And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures:
et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.
And ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father:
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos,
And he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead:
cuius regni non erit finis;
Whose Kingdom will have no end;
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem,
And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Life,
qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.
Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son
Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur:
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified,
qui locutus est per prophetas.
Who has spoken through the Prophets.
Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
And I believe in One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,
Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum,
And I look for the Resurrection of the Dead:
et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
And the Life of the world to come. Amen.

In a service the Creed is often either said by the congregation or sung to one of the many chant settings due to its length.

IV. Sanctus

The Sanctus is a doxology praising the Trinity:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth; pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna in excelsis
Hosanna in the highest.

V. Benedictus

The Benedictus is a continuation of the Sanctus:

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord

Hosanna in excelsis is repeated after the Benedictus section, often with musical material identical to that used after the Sanctus, or very closely related.

In Gregorian chant the Sanctus (with Benedictus) was sung whole at its place in the mass. However, as composers produced more embellished settings of the Sanctus text, the music often would go on so long that it would run into the consecration of the bread and wine. This was considered the most important part of the Mass, so composers began to stop the Sanctus halfway through to allow this to happen, and then continue it after the consecration is finished. This practice was forbidden for a period in the twentieth century.

VI. Agnus Dei

The Agnus Dei is a setting of the "Lamb of God" litany:

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
miserere nobis
have mercy upon us.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
dona nobis pacem.
grant us peace.

In a Requiem Mass, the words "miserere nobis" are replaced by "dona eis requiem" (grant them rest), while "dona nobis pacem" is replaced by "dona eis requiem sempiternam" (grant them eternal rest).

Other Sections

In a liturgical Mass, there are other sections that may be sung, often in Gregorian chant. These sections, the "Proper" of the Mass, change with the day and season according to the Church calendar, or according to the special circumstances of the mass. The Proper of the Mass is usually not set to music in a Mass itself, except in the case of a Requiem Mass, but may be the subject of motets or other musical compositions. The sections of the Proper of the Mass include the Introit, Gradual, Alleluia or Tract (depending on the time of year), Offertory and Communion.

Musical settings

Middle Ages

The earliest musical settings of the Mass are Gregorian chant. The different portions of the Ordinary came into the liturgy at different times, with the Kyrie probably being first (perhaps as early as the 7th century) and the Credo being last (it did not become part of the Roman mass until 1014)[1].

In the early 14th century, composers began writing polyphonic versions of the sections of the Ordinary. The reason for this surge in interest is not known, but it has been suggested that there was a shortage of new music since composers were increasingly attracted to secular music, and overall interest in writing sacred music had entered a period of decline.[2] The non-changing part of the mass, the Ordinary, then would have music which was available for performance all the time.

Two manuscripts of the 14th century, the Ivrea Codex and the Apt Codex, are the primary sources for polyphonic settings of the Ordinary. Stylistically these settings are similar to both motets and secular music of the time, with a three-voice texture dominated by the highest part. Most of this music was written or assembled at the papal court at Avignon.

Several anonymous complete masses from the 14th century survive, including the Tournai Mass; however, discrepancies in style indicate that the movements of these masses were written by several composers and later compiled by scribes into a single set. The first complete Mass we know of whose composer can be identified was the Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) by Guillaume de Machaut in the 14th century.

Renaissance

Main articles: Cyclic mass, Cantus firmus mass, Paraphrase mass, Parody mass

The musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass was the principal large-scale form of the Renaissance. The earliest complete settings date from the 14th century, with the most famous example being the Messe de Nostre Dame of Guillaume de Machaut. Individual mass movements, and especially pairs of movements (such as Gloria-Credo pairs, or Sanctus-Agnus pairs), were commonly composed during the 14th and early 15th centuries. Complete masses by a single composer were the norm by the middle of the 15th century, and the form of the mass, with the possibilities for large-scale structure inherent in its multiple movement format, was the main focus of composers within the area of sacred music; it was not to be eclipsed until the motet and related forms became more popular in the first decades of the 16th century.

Most 15th century masses were based on a cantus firmus, usually from a Gregorian chant, and most commonly put in the tenor voice. The cantus firmus sometimes appeared simultaneously in other voices, using a variety of contrapuntal techniques. Later in the century, composers such as Guillaume Dufay, Johannes Ockeghem, and Jacob Obrecht, used secular tunes for cantus firmi. This practice was accepted with little controversy until prohibited by the Council of Trent in 1562. In particular, the song L'homme armé has a long history with composers; more than 40 separate mass settings exist.

Other techniques for organizing the cyclic mass evolved by the beginning of the 16th century, including the paraphrase technique, in which the cantus firmus was elaborated and ornamented, and the parody technique, in which several voices of a polyphonic source, not just one, were incorporated into the texture of the mass. Paraphrase and parody supplanted cantus-firmus as the techniques of choice in the 16th century: Palestrina alone wrote 51 parody masses.

Yet another technique used to organize the multiple movements of a mass was canon. The earliest masses based entirely on canon are Johannes Ockeghem's Missa prolationum, in which each movement is a prolation canon on a freely-composed tune, and the Missa L'homme armé of Guillaume Faugues, which is also entirely canonic but also uses the famous tune L'homme armé throughout. Pierre de La Rue wrote four separate canonic masses based on plainchant, and one of Josquin des Prez's mature masses, the Missa Ad fugam, is entirely canonic and free of borrowed material.[3]

The Missa Sine nomine, literally "mass without a name", refers to a mass written on freely composed material. Sometimes these masses were named for other things, such as Palestrina's famous Missa Papae Marcelli, and many times they were canonic masses, as in Josquin's Missa Sine nomine.

Many famous and influential masses were composed by Josquin des Prez, the single most influential composer of the middle Renaissance. At the end of the 16th century, prominent representatives of a cappella choral counterpoint included the Englishman William Byrd, the Castilian Tomás Luis de Victoria and the Roman Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose Mass for Pope Marcellus is sometimes credited with saving polyphony from the censure of the Council of Trent. By the time of Palestrina, however, most composers outside of Rome were using other forms for their primary creative outlet for expression in the realm of sacred music, principally the motet and the madrigale spirituale; composers such as the members of the Venetian School preferred the possibilities inherent in the new forms. Other composers, such as Orlande de Lassus, working in Munich and comfortably distant from the conservative influence of the Council of Trent, continued to write parody masses on secular songs.

Major Works in Baroque through Romantic

After the Renaissance, the mass tended not to be the central genre for any one composer, yet some of the most famous of all musical works of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods are masses. Many of the most famous of the great masses of the Romantic era were Requiem masses.

Among the Masses written for the Ordinary of the Mass are:

Major Works in the 20th and 21st century

In the 20th century, composers continued to write masses, in an even wider diversity of style, form and function than before.

The 20th century

The 21st century

Masses written for the Anglican liturgy

These are more often known as 'Communion Services', and differ not only in that they are settings of English words, but also, as mentioned above, in that the Gloria usually forms the last movement. Sometimes the Kyrie movement takes the form of sung responses to the Ten Commandments, 1 to 9 being followed by the words 'Lord have mercy upon us and incline our heartd to keep this law', and the tenth by 'Lord have mercy upon us and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee'. Since the texts of the 'Benedictus qui venit' and the 'Agnus Dei' do not actually feature in the liturgy of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, these movements are often missing from some of the earlier Anglican settings. Charles Villiers Stanford composed a Benedictus and Agnus in the key of F major which was published separately to complete his service in C.

With reforms in the Anglican liturgy, the movements are now usually sung in the same order that they are in the Roman Catholic rite, leading, according to some, to the musical integrity of the settings being somewhat compromised.[citation needed] Choral settings of the Creed, the most substantial movement are rarely performed in Anglican cathedrals now.

Well known Anglican settings of the Mass, which may be found in the repertoire of many English cathedrals are:

Musical reforms of Pius X

Pope St. Pius X initiated many regulations to the mass music in the early 20th century. He felt that most of the masses composed by the famous composers were not appropriate for a church setting, and advocated primarily Gregorian chant and polyphony. He was primarily influenced by the work of the Abbey of Solesmes. Some of the rules he put forth include the following:

  • That any Mass be composed in an integrated fashion, not by assembling different compositions for different parts
  • That all percussion instruments should be forbidden
  • That ideally the choir should be all male
  • That the congregation itself should ideally be trained to sing along with the Gregorian chant.

These regulations carry little if any weight today, especially after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Quite recently, Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged a return to chant as the primary music of the liturgy, as this is explicitly mentioned in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, specifically Sacrosanctum Concilium 116[4].

Missa Brevis (Short Mass)

In addition, a number of composers wrote shorter, abbreviated masses, Missae Breves, which often missed out the longer movements.

References

  • Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
  • Harold Gleason and Warren Becker, Music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Music Literature Outlines Series I). Bloomington, Indiana. Frangipani Press, 1986. ISBN 0-89917-034-X
  • Lewis Lockwood, "Mass." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
  • The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Randel. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1986. ISBN 0-674-61525-5
  • M. Jennifer Bloxham, "Masses on Polyphonic Songs", in Robert Scherr, ed., The Josquin Companion. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-816335-5
  • http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/theordinaryofthemass/f/gloria.htm
  • Music of Mass in Catholic Encyclopedia

Notes

  1. ^ Harvard Dictionary of Music, p. 472.
  2. ^ Lockwood, "Mass", Grove (1980)
  3. ^ Bloxham, p. 196
  4. ^ Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium
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