Belmont Mass - Christopher Walker

The Gloria (or "Glory to God," as it is labeled) is fine piece of work. Straightforward, chant-inspired, a bit contemporary. The organ seems a bit like overkill, but that could certainly be a matter of taste. The Sanctus ("Holy") is very nice as well. The Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God") is a bit long and boring, even in the context of a mass described as "Style: Chant." I did not care for the Our Father at all- it seemed oddly sentimental, and reminded me a bit of the type of choral music in early Disney films (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty). That might just have been the harp.

Overall, this seems like a very nice setting for a parish that likes organ music already, and is trying to move towards a chanted mass but is a bit skiddish about unaccompanied music or has some hostility toward "Chant." It would also be worthwhile for a parish or small cathedral that wants to sound "High Church," but simply doesn't have the time/talent to do a full (SATB) choral setting of the Ordinary.

Excellent work, Mr. Walker.

Mass of Renewal - Curtis Stephan

This Mass is well written, but I'm a bit conflicted about the style. It's a big soft-rock ballad, the kind you write when you have a choir of notable celebrities singing about ending the war or believing in yourself. I'm just not sure that's the rigth atmosphere for the Mass. Beyond that, I simply can't imagine how anything like an average church can pull this off. Even if you have a full praiseband (hmmm), the scale of the instrumentation and the productino values on the recording basically dooms you to "this doesn't sound as good as I remember it."

If you like this sort of thing (and I have to admit that I do), buy the CD and keep it in your car. But don't inflict it on Sunday worshippers.

Mass of St. Francis Cabrini - Kevin Keil

I just don't get this Mass setting. It seems designed to be as boring as stodgy as "folkies" think Chant is, but without being anything like Chant. The organ drones away (not literally) on square-metered minor chords while a choir of what sounds like sad Episcopalians uses their "legitimate voices" to screach out the oh-so-predictable SATB harmonization. I'm not sure who this is written for: the chant and polyphony crowd surely won't find it solemn enough, and it pretty much exemplifies why the contemporary-music crowd hates the organ. Maybe you can find an Anglican-Use parish that really hates happiness.

Summary:

Seriously some hits and misses here, but overall it seems that OCP has a better handle on getting quality Mass settings published than GIA does. I find the incessant pseudo-High-Church style to be a funny trend (epseically when you listen to several settings in a row), but one that may eventually lead toward bridging the gap between the liturgical music traditionalists and progressives. I will continue to say, though, that I don't think any of these settings are a good choice for the First Sunday of Advent, 2011. The ICEL chants, unaccompanied, are your best bet, regardless of your parish resources, preferences, or demographics.