Mass (music)

• 1. Origins And Ordinary Texts

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  The earliest musical settings of the mass are Gregorian chant. The different unchanging portions of the mass, collectively known as the Ordinary, came into the liturgy at different times. The Kyrie probably appeared first around the 7th century. The Credo was last to join, entering the Roman mass only in 1014. In the early 14th century, composers began writing polyphonic versions of these sections. This surge in interest occurred when overall interest in sacred music had entered a period of decline. Composers were increasingly attracted to secular music instead. The Ordinary then provided music which was available for performance all the time. Two manuscripts from the 14th century serve as primary sources for these polyphonic settings. They are the Ivrea Codex and the Apt Codex. Most of this music was written or assembled at the papal court at Avignon.

• 2. Renaissance Polyphonic Evolution

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  The Messe de Nostre Dame by Guillaume de Machaut stands as the most famous example of an early complete setting. Individual movements and especially pairs like Gloria, Credo became common during the 14th and early 15th centuries. Complete masses by a single composer became the norm by the middle of the 15th century. Most 15th-century masses were based on a cantus firmus usually from a Gregorian chant. This melody often appeared in the tenor voice. Later in the century, composers such as Guillaume Dufay used secular tunes for their cantus firmi. More than 40 separate mass settings exist using the song L'homme armé. Paraphrase and parody techniques supplanted cantus firmus as the methods of choice in the 16th century. Palestrina alone wrote 51 parody masses. The earliest masses based entirely on canon include Johannes Ockeghem's Missa prolationum. Josquin des Prez composed many famous and influential masses that defined the middle Renaissance era.

• 3. Baroque To Romantic Transformations

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  The early Baroque era initiated stylistic changes leading to increasing disparity between traditional polyphonic styles and modern approaches. Michael Praetorius published a mass for double choir in 1611 within his collection Missodia Sionia. Henri Dumont lived from 1610 to 1684 and continued composing plainsong settings distinct from earlier chants. A further disparity arose between the festive missa solemnis and the compact missa brevis. Johann Joseph Fux cultivated the stile antico mass suitable for weekdays in the 18th century. František Brixi worked at Prague Cathedral writing his Missa aulica for four voices, trumpets, violin and continuo. The Italian style cultivated orchestral masses including soloists, chorus and obbligato instruments. This spread to German-speaking Catholic countries north of the Alps using instruments for color. The large scale masses of the first half of the 18th century still have Glorias and Credos divided into many movements. Many of Mozart's masses are in missa brevis form as are some of Haydn's early ones. Later masses especially of Haydn are of symphonic structure with long sections divided into fewer movements.

• 4. Twentieth Century Reforms

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  Pope Pius X initiated many regulations reforming the liturgical music of the mass in the early 20th century. He felt that some post-Renaissance masses were too long and often more appropriate for a theatrical setting. His motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini appeared in 1903. He advocated primarily Gregorian plainchant and polyphony influenced by the work of the Abbey of Solesmes. Any mass be composed in an integrated fashion not by assembling different compositions for different parts. All percussive instruments should be forbidden under these new rules. The piano was explicitly forbidden from use in church settings. The centuries' old practice of alternatim between choir and organ concluded immediately. Women must not be present in the choir according to his directives. These regulations carry little weight today especially after changes of the Second Vatican Council. A new translation of the Roman Missal published in 2011 prompted expectations for immediate use of new settings. In England and Wales bishops permitted older settings to continue until Pentecost Sunday 2014.

• 5. Global Vernacular Adaptations

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  English language translations developed after the Second Vatican Council promoted vernacular languages in the Catholic Church. Many Masses written in English exist for a United States context since that council. Others called communion services serve the Church of England where vernacular worship has long been the norm. The movement for liturgical reform resulted in revised forms using accessible styles popular or ethnic. New methods such as refrain and response encourage congregational involvement. Bộ lễ Seraphim appeared in 1960 by Paul Nguyễn Văn Hoà representing Vietnamese traditions. Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramírez reflects Latin American vernacular traditions. African Sanctus by David Fanshawe explores African musical idioms. Misa flamenca appeared in 1991 by Paco Peña drawing on Spanish flamenco roots. Misatango o Misa a Buenos Aires dates from 1996 by Martín Palmieri. These works demonstrate how masses thrive beyond walls of the church composed for concert performance rather than service of the Roman Rite.

• 6. Notable Composers And Works

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  Johann Sebastian Bach wrote four Missae alongside his Mass in B minor. W. A. Mozart composed 18 masses including the Great Mass in C minor in 1782. Joseph Haydn created 14 masses including the Nelson Mass and Mass in Time of War. Ludwig van Beethoven contributed a Mass in C major and Missa Solemnis in D major. Anton Bruckner wrote three masses in D minor, E minor and F minor. Gioachino Rossini completed his Petite messe solennelle in 1863. Hector Berlioz composed a Requiem in 1837 while Giuseppe Verdi followed with one in 1874. Leoš Janáček published his Glagolitic Mass in 1926. Igor Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein each created significant mass settings in the 20th century. Benjamin Britten released his War Requiem in 1962. Andrew Lloyd Webber composed a Requiem in 1990 and John Rutter produced Mass of the Children in 2004. The Electric Prunes recorded a Mass in F minor representing rock influences on sacred forms.