Music for a "Festive" Mass
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    Our center is opening a huge expansion in the Fall, and we'll be having a "Ribbon-Cutting" Mass in September, with bishops galore. I'm already planning repertoire, and I'd like to hear any suggestions from folks on the forum. Items I'm still pondering:

    --Kyrie: I'll have strings and brass, so I'd like to do something here with the former. Most likely, I'm looking at Proulx's arrangement of the first movement of Schubert's "Deutsche Mass" with the Kyrie text in English. Simple and lovely, but I'd open to any other suggestions.

    --Offertory: The Proper for 23 OT is not . . . well, what I want to use ("Oravi Deum"), so I'd like to put a general choral setting here. Again, strings, brass, organ . . . I've got the resources, so almost anything goes. And offertory should take 5+ minutes, so I have some flexibility here as well.

    --Communion: I'll do some chant, followed most likely by something congregational; I'd like to throw a Eucharistic motet on the end though. Preferably something a little more restrained, and preferably something Renaissance.

    Note: As far as my choral forces, I'll probably have about 50-voices of varying ability, a smaller group for the more difficult stuff, and potentially a very small group for something really challenging. I'm open to repertoire for all the ability levels.

    Also, any concertato settings of "Alleluia, Sing to Jesus" to recommend?

    Thanks in advance . . .
  • Mark P.
    Posts: 248
    I'm suggesting all Mozart:

    For the Kyrie: Missa brevis in C (K 220) "Sparrow Mass"

    For the Offertory: "Dixit Dominus" from Solemn Vespers of a Confessor (K 339)

    For Communion: "Ave verum Corpus" (K 618)

    All of the parts are available from Luck's Music Library (see http://www.lucksmusic.net/)
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 422
    With a choir of that size...

    - Latin translations of pieces from Rachmaninov's "All Night Vigil"
    - Some of Bruckner's motets
    - Some Gabrieli would sound nice too.
    - Maybe a setting of the Mass that alternates between chant and polyphony, so that you can involve the congregation. That also means less need for messy editing when you get to the Sanctus/Benedictus & Agnus Dei. I'm assuming this is an OF Liturgy.

    Personally, I steer pretty clear of Mozart, Haydn, Schubert etc.
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