Patrick Cassidy mass?
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,046
    Did anyone catch Kresta in the Afternoon today? His last segment was an interview with Fr. John Gallagher of the Catholic Foundation for the Arts, about a commission they gave to a Los Angeles composer, Patrick Cassidy, for an orchestral Mass. It hasn't been premiered yet, but they did a demo with the London Symphony.

    I was not impressed with the excerpts I heard; the ideas struck me as faceless and there wasn't anything particularly interesting about their working-out. It was not so much beautiful as not-ugly (which is itself an accomplishment, these days.) Granted, I was put off by Fr. Gallagher's claim that it was "the first symphonic mass in 200 years". I'm not even sure what a "symphonic mass" is, except a Mass for forces and durations so large as to preclude it being used at a Mass....in which case is it actually a Mass? While I can see an evangelistic point in writing such a piece, getting a big chorus and orchestra piece done in these times is a masochist's mission.

    So my question is twofold: did anyone hear this, and what did you think? And, as a side excursion, what's your favorite post-Missa-Solemnis Ordinary setting for voices with orchestra?
  • SkirpRSkirpR
    Posts: 854
    I'm assuming it was in Latin?
  • JacobFlahertyJacobFlaherty
    Posts: 328
    At my childhood parish of 350 families a really very good choir would sing 4-5 big, orchestral Masses each year. My favorite, though not a Missa Solemnis, was Mozart's 'Missa Brevis in F' K 192. I was fortunate to be able to sing the boy soprano parts back in '95. I also like the 'St. Cecilia Mass' by Charles Gounod and the 'Pastoral Mass' Op. 147 by Anton Diabelli; I sang the Tenor solos on that back in the early 2000's. Youtube has all these pieces, though they vary in performance quality.
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,046
    Yes, Latin.
    It's hard to count the Mozarts in this, because they can be done liturgically (and I've done so).
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,694
    More people and organizations should be commissioning compositions in truly sacred styles... This could eliminate some good composers from having to go over to "the dark side" and write things in 6/8 with bongo and banjo parts included in the score.
Add a Comment