Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1277132 Composed by Adrian Gagiu. 21st Century,Christian,Classical,Latin. Octavo. 128 pages. Adrian Gagiu #868444. Published by Adrian Gagiu (A0.1277132). Missa Solemnis in B major, op. 27, vocal score and piano part (for rehearsal purposes only). Based on its Neo-classical style, this setting of the Roman Catholic mass text could possibly work as a festive mass (missa solemnis) with trumpets and timpani, and its duration would fit such a solemn service. However, its intense and sometimes dramatic treatment and universal addressability due to its well-known and rather concentrated text, yet also due to eliminating the āFilioqueā (which would still fit the rhythm of the repeated āqui ex Patreā, should any Catholics ever wish to perform this as a mass) make it rather a āliturgical oratorio for all nationsā, more appropriate in the concert hall.Ā The work has had a long gestation: imagined in 1984 after the composerās first contact with Beethovenās masterpiece, then sketched first in 1987-1989, and many of its themes date back from those years. Its working out is quite polyphonic, discretely modal and cyclical, and also full of centuries-old musical symbols traditionally associated with the setting of the mass text: e.g. unisons for the more dogmatical parts, Baroque dotted rhythms at the Nativity (the first coming of the Ā King of Kings), ārex caelestisā and also at his Passion (whose setting is discretely inspired by folkloric Romanian laments), the āanabasisā gesture at āGloria in excelsis Deoā, āet ascendit in caelisā, āin remissionem peccatorumā and the resurrection, a flute trill standing for the Holy Spirit who has come ālike a doveā at āet incarnatus estā, a cross-shaped texture at ācrucifixusā, and some word-painting (hushed sonorities at āet invisibiliumā, anticipations between orchestra and chorus at āet exspectoā etc.). Moreover, certain symbolic roles are assigned to the instrumental groups when alone (the organ represents God the Father and transcendence, the winds and/or solo voices represent God the Son and humanity, and the strings represent the Holy Spirit).Ā āKyrieā is restrained and soft, besides the powerful chords opening the respective sections of its tripartite, simple structure, and it leans towards Palestrinaās serene modality and counterpoint. āGloriaā begins with a colorful orchestral introduction depicting discretely the shepherds who kept watch over their flocks right before the Nativity, and then gradually the bright revelation. āCredoā has an orchestral introduction as well, but powerful, recurring and based on the beginning of the plainchant hymn āPange linguaā, made famous by Mozartās last symphony and by other Classical composers. Both āGloriaā and āCredoā end with extended, powerful and elaborate fugues (āin gloria Dei Patrisā and āet vitam venturi saeculiā, respectively) with dramatic modulations and sometimes with enthusiastic syncopations at odds with the wordsā accents, a la Stravinsky. The same sections plus āAgnus Deiā end with soft quartal harmonies suggesting transcendent appeasement (similar harmonies appear powerfully at the beginning of āSanctusā). āJudicareā quotes the beginning of the well-known āDies iraeā plainchant tune, and the Consecration between the āSanctusā and āBenedictusā sections is represented by a contemplative prelude for solo organ, quoting Lutheran chorales, too. Another long orchestral introduction, suggesting the Last Judgment and based on traditional Byzantine hymns, opens āAgnus Deiā, which includes another quotation (the famous āDresden Amenā at āqui tollis peccata mundiā and ādona nobis pacemā). In the final section, with its refined simplicity, the choral voices enter in descending order, and the āKyrie eleisonā theme is briefly remembered, then it ends softly and peacefully.Ā Total duration: 50 min. Performing Rights Organization: SOCAN. The mp3 audio clip is Kyrie.
