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Mass for Choir and Percussion Ensemble - 2003, rev. 2012 (Realization) (5 Tracks)

by Kenneth L. Field

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1.
Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy
2.
Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam glariam tuam, Damine Deus, Rex caelastis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili Unigenite, Jesu Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu: in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
3.
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato: passus, et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit in caelum: sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos: cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem: qui ex Patre, Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre, et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unam baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. I believe in one God, the almighty Father, maker of heaven and earth, maker of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before time began; God from God, light from light, true God from true God; begotten, not made, one in essence with the Father; through whom all things were made. He for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit from the virgin Mary; and was made man. For our sake too, under Pontius Pilate, he was crucified, suffered death, and was buried. And the third day he rose from death, as the scriptures had foretold. And he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and of his reign there will be no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, Lord and life-giver, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who spoke through the prophets. I believe in one holy catholic, and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
4.
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domine. Osanna in excelsis. Holy, holy, holy, art thou, Lord God of hosts. Thy glory fills all heaven and earth. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
5.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

about

It should be noted that this is not a live performance, nor it is it a recorded performance in a studio. This is a computer realization using samples. The choir has been substituted with an organ.

Over the course of my graduate study at California State University, Fullerton, I came to an understanding that I see my compositions as ikons (or at least hope that others can experience them this way.). The Orthodox Tradition of Christianity sees ikons as windows into heaven, objects where the sacred or transcendent intersect our present world and time. Both John Tavener and Arvo Pärt see there own musical oeuvre in a similar manner. Because of this understanding, it is essential in my own work that it reflect my spiritual outlook, which is rooted in Christianity, but is able to draw freely from the Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Traditions. In addition to this spiritual influence, my choral works have been influenced by my advanced graduate studies in linguistics. Because of my understanding of the structures present in language and phonetics, I find these valuable organizational tools for texted works.

Thus, for my Master’s thesis project in 2003, I wrote a Mass for Choir and Percussion Ensemble. This is five movement work lasting approximately twenty-five minutes when performed in full. The movements and texts follow along traditional lines: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. The percussion ensemble is large, requiring five players in the first movement, four in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth, and finally only one in the last movement playing the tubular bells. The work is conceptual in that the choir initially must cry out to God through the noise and chaos of the percussion ensemble. As the work proceeds, the voice of the choir gradually overcomes the din of the percussion ensemble. The work concludes with the voice of the choir arriving in a transformed spiritual state.

Harmonically, the work is modal in nature. The Kyrie is in A Phrygian, the Gloria is in Bb Lydian, the Credo is in C Mixolydian, the Sanctus is in D Aeolian, and the Agnus Dei returns to Phrygian, but now in E. This harmonic upward progression is also a picture of the spiritual journey upward.

Thematically, there is a cantus firmus which serves to unify the piece. The cantus firmus is most clearly heard in the last movement, Agnus Dei, where it is the chorale accompaniment to the chant figure. (The Agnus Dei is based upon the second movement “Chant” from my Suite for Right Hand Piano.) This cantus firmus also appears in each of the other movements in different guises, for example, in the Kyrie, the marimba and vibraphone are playing the cantus firmus in phase to each other while the xylophone is playing it in an elongated manner.

I have approached the texts from the Gloria and Credo in a different manner than the texts from the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. The Gloria and the Credo contain the longest texts and are usually declaimed in a syllabic manner. I decided to add another level of interest to the text, namely what one might call from a linguistic point of view syllable weight. Once these rules have been applied to the entire texts of the Gloria and Credo, each syllable carries a particular syllable weight. This syllable weight is realized musically in the Gloria and Credo as duration, although the duration of the mora may change from phrase to phrase, e.g. within a given phrase the mora may equal a sixteenth note or an eighth note or any other value, but the chosen value remains constant throughout the phrase. This allows freedom to speed up and slow down entire phrases when needed.

credits

released October 18, 2012

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