Favorite Mass settings (Novus Ordo edition)
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,886
    Since there is a wonderful thread detailing some of everyone's favorite traditional / latin / polyphonic mass ordinaries, I'm curious to know what your favorite vernacular / novus ordo ordinaries are.

    One of my absolute favorites is Michæl Olbash's Mass in Honor of Our Lady, Star of the Sea which is available for free on CCW. There are some nice recordings of the Gloria
    https://youtu.be/uYQ1fYikfZM?si=YcTK0FXHlrW2_0Ut
    and Sanctus of a boy's choir singing it on Olbash's YT channel which are phenomenal.
    https://youtu.be/ZJKU1eN11Q4?si=gy6PfkyOFJYcy9q5

    To me, it strikes that fantastic balance of being modern, but still having the "spirit" of chant.

    Last year I inherited Proulx's Missa Simplex, which has a particularly accessible Gloria, IMHO. In a similar-but-different vein, Walker's Belmont Mass is also rather nice.

    For a particularly lush setting of traditional chant, but set in a modern way intended for novus ordo high masses, I don't know if you can do any better than Normand Gouin's Mass of the Transfiguration. It is truly stunning, and I'm genuinely contemplating teaching it to the diocesan choir for ordination in the spring.
    https://youtu.be/bur4ja2xahg?si=q_-kXK78omOHHRmY

    (And for a polyphonic setting that I've used successfully multiple times in a novus ordo and vetus ordo setting, Dalitz's Missa Tribus Vocibus cannot be beat. It feels every bit old-world but is succinct enough to use in the N.O. Here's the Sanctus: https://youtu.be/OLpGoeiWBz8?si=2OG_1VGFOjYoMs8p)

    So, now your turn. What are some other wonderful mass settings worth considering for a novus ordo context.
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  • francis
    Posts: 10,821
    .
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  • davido
    Posts: 942
    All of the ones Serviam had mentioned
    Also
    Mass of St Francis by Horst Buchholz (workhorse setting; balanced melodies, 4 part harmony that matches well with traditional hymnody - similar ethos to Heritage Mass, but much better music) - I really think this should be a baseline English mass for any organ-based Catholic music program

    Mass of the Immaculate Conception by Peter Latona (psalm tone style melodies, easy to pick up, good use of modal harmony and melody, maintains musical interest through techniques such as contrasting harmonic centers)

    Mass in Honor of Pope St John Paul II by Richard Clark (free rhythm chant style, choral harmonies, advanced harmonic palette)


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  • Joseph Michael
    Posts: 258
    Kyrie and Gloria from Mass in Honor of Saint Ignatius by Russell Weismann.
    Sanctus from Weismann's All Saints Mass. Both Weismann masses are written in a chant style.

    Sanctus from David Hurd's New Plainchant Mass

    Sanctus and Mystery of Faith from Paul Jernberg's Mass in Honor of St Philip Neri
    .
    Mass in F by William Endicott--written in a chant style reminiscent of Theodore Marier.
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  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,325
    Lots of good recommendations already here: I'll say that I did use Mass of the Transfiguration with a 10-12 voice (semi-pro) parish choir with success. It's nicely done and I think would generally be accepted by most parishes even though it's mostly **gasp** in Latin. For a purist or academic, you're probably not going to love it, though.

    I also used Chris Mueller's Mass successfully. It is lovely! https://www.benesonarium.com/roman-missal/
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  • smt
    Posts: 62
    Oh, the Olbash Sanctus is lovely! I wonder whether I could/should translate it to German.
  • ViolaViola
    Posts: 411
    Here in the UK there are several splendid late 19th early 20th century polyphonic Masses by people such as Sir Richard Terry, Fr Joseph Turner OSB (I have put his Mass of St Cecilia on CPDL) and Alphonse Cary. All very accessible, and not too long.
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  • AnimaVocis
    Posts: 150
    My favorites are:

    Mass of the Immaculate Conception (Latona)
    Mass of St. Michael (O'Connor; St. Michael Hymnal)
    Tribus Vocibus (Dalitz)
    Missa Orientalis (Sykulski; no Gloria)


    I also adore Willan's Mass of St. Mary Magdalene, but it's not in the public domain, nor is it set to the proper mass translation... So some work would need to be done to adapt this (I haven't yet).
  • trentonjconn
    Posts: 622
    We use the Willan throughout Eastertide and for higher feasts. I work for the Ordinariate, so we can use it without manipulating the text. On which note, if I recall correctly, someone at St. John Cantius in Chicago did indeed set the OF texts to Willan's setting. I'm not sure if it is available anywhere, but you can find recordings of it in this form on YouTube.
  • TCJ
    Posts: 986
    @trentonjconn

    It is available with the Ignatius Pew Missal.
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  • liampmcdonough
    Posts: 297
    My Mass of Mary, Mystic Rose has been a workhorse setting for our parish for 3 years and the congregation really sings it (in an edition for the Ordinariate Use-the Mass for Our Lady of Walsingham). See this thread: https://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/19495/mass-for-our-lady-of-walsingham-mass-of-mary-mystic-rose-english-chant-mass-ordinary#Item_1
    MMR Kyrie.pdf
    44K
    MMR Gloria.pdf
    80K
    MMR Sanctus et Benedictus.pdf
    47K
    MMR Agnus Dei.pdf
    47K
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  • haquino126
    Posts: 2
    Mass of St. Philip Neri by Paul Jernberg has to be one of my favorites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XGfV7gYrd8

    Additionally, Paul has a Mass of Saint Monica which I used for my wedding Mass which happened to fall on the feast of Saint Monica! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNeu09lhM1E

    I know the Mass of St. Philip Neri can be found in the Source and Summit Missal and I believe it is also in the St. Michael Hymnal 5th edition.
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