Following a performance of his Latin Mass I was bold enough to ask Frank La Rocca if would be writing a vernacular setting and after hearing hard-to-confirm rumors that he had in fact since done so I got a chance to ask him again, with the result that yesterday we introduced the Mass of St. Margaret Mary at St David's. It's a very different from what Frank knows I listen to at hard-core new music concerts, but I'm happy I persisted: it's unison-only with organ accompaniment but the congregation jumped right in and sang along on their first hearing.

Perusers will perhaps smile at the opening of the Gloria, not unlike a ubiquitous piece by Marty Haugen, but let them keep reading beyond the first two bars. There's a bear trap or two with sudden long notes in the Gloria at "have merccccccy on us" and "Lord God uvvvv hosts" in the Sanctus, and there's a nice postlude to the Agnus but nothing to cover the indecorous thumping of kneelers after the Sanctus. These are pretty small quibbles with an eminently use-full piece of Gebrauchsmusik, though, and I highly recommend it!