The mass: text and structure
The mass is the Catholic Eucharistic liturgy. In music we distinguish:
- the Ordinary (fixed texts, the same every day): Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus (with Benedictus), Agnus Dei. These are the five parts of a polyphonic or symphonic “mass”;
- the Proper (texts that change with the calendar): Introit, Gradual, Alleluia (or Tract), Offertory, Communion. In the Middle Ages they were sung in Gregorian chant; some polyphonic collections set them to music.
The Requiem mass (for the dead) has its own texts: Introit “Requiem aeternam,” Kyrie, the sequence Dies irae, Offertory, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Communion “Lux aeterna” (Mozart K. 626, 1791, unfinished; Verdi, 1874; Fauré, who omits the Dies irae).
Compositional techniques of the polyphonic mass
| Type | Principle | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Cantus firmus mass | a pre-existing melody (Gregorian or secular) in long values in the tenor, in all parts of the Ordinary | Dufay and many others: the masses on the song L'homme armé |
| Paraphrase mass | the pre-existing melody is elaborated and distributed among all the voices, in imitation | Josquin, Missa Pange lingua |
| Parody mass (or imitation) | the whole polyphony of a motet or chanson is reused, reworked | many masses by Palestrina, Lassus, Victoria |
| “Sine nomine” mass | original material | Palestrina, Missa Papae Marcelli (1567) |
The Council of Trent (1545–63) asked that the text be comprehensible: the Missa Papae Marcelli alternates imitation and homorhythmic passages that make the words clear.
The “concertato” and symphonic masses
- Bach, Mass in B minor BWV 232 (completed in 1749): arias, duets, fugal choruses, with orchestra; the “Crucifixus” is a passacaglia over a chromatic lament bass.
- Mozart, Coronation Mass K. 317, Great Mass in C minor K. 427.
- Haydn, six great late masses (Nelson-Messe).
- Beethoven, Missa solemnis, Op. 123 (1823).
- 20th century: Stravinsky, Mass (1948); Bernstein, Mass (1971), a “theater piece” with rock band and musical-theater instruments.
In concertato masses the parts of the Ordinary are divided into many numbers; conventions: fugue on the final words of the Gloria (“Cum Sancto Spiritu”) and of the Credo (“Et vitam venturi”), “Et incarnatus est” slow and mystical, “Crucifixus” in the minor, “Et resurrexit” explosive.
The motet
A polyphonic composition on a sacred text (usually Latin) not belonging to the Ordinary. It has a very long history:
- Medieval motet (13th–14th century): over a Gregorian tenor, the upper voices sing different texts, sometimes in different languages; the isorhythmic motet (Machaut, Dufay: Nuper rosarum flores, 1436, for the consecration of the dome of Florence Cathedral) repeats rhythmic (talea) and melodic (color) patterns in the tenor.
- Renaissance motet (Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, Byrd): a series of points of imitation, one for each phrase of the text, alternating with homorhythmic passages; “chain” form determined by the text. Example: Josquin, Ave Maria… virgo serena.
- Baroque motet: Bach, six German motets (BWV 225–230), for example Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227, built symmetrically around a central fugue; Singet dem Herrn BWV 225 for double chorus.
- Later motets: Mozart, Ave verum corpus K. 618 (1791); Bruckner; Poulenc; Arvo Pärt.
How to analyze a Renaissance motet
- Divide the text into phrases.
- For each phrase find the subject of the point of imitation and the order of entries.
- Mark the cadences (clausulas) that close each section and their final note (mode).
- Observe where the composer shifts to homorhythm (important words, text to be made understood).
For a producer
The mass teaches large-scale coherence: the same melody (cantus firmus) holding up five different pieces is the equivalent of an album built on a single sample or motif. The motet is the model of the modern multi-voice choir (gospel, cinematic choir): imitation between sections for meditative phrases, homorhythmic blocks for key words.
Related
Sacred forms 2: cantata, oratorio and Passion, Four-voice counterpoint, Canon and imitation, The Bach chorale, Passacaglia and chaconne, Vocal harmonies and choir voicing.