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 âFilioqueâ (which would still fit the rhythm of the repeated âqui ex Patreâ, should any Catholics ever wish to perform this as a mass) make it rather a âliturgical oratorio for all nationsâ, more appropriate in the concert hall. The work has had a long gestation: imagined in 1984 after the composerâs first contact with Beethovenâs 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  King of Kings), ârex caelestisâ and also at his Passion (whose setting is discretely inspired by folkloric Romanian laments), the âanabasisâ gesture at âGloria in excelsis Deoâ, âet ascendit in caelisâ, âin remissionem peccatorumâ and the resurrection, a flute trill standing for the Holy Spirit who has come âlike a doveâ at âet incarnatus estâ, a cross-shaped texture at âcrucifixusâ, and some word-painting (hushed sonorities at âet invisibiliumâ, anticipations between orchestra and chorus at âet exspectoâ 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). âKyrieâ is restrained and soft, besides the powerful chords opening the respective sections of its tripartite, simple structure, and it leans towards Palestrinaâs serene modality and counterpoint. âGloriaâ 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. âCredoâ has an orchestral introduction as well, but powerful, recurring and based on the beginning of the plainchant hymn âPange linguaâ, made famous by Mozartâs last symphony and by other Classical composers. Both âGloriaâ and âCredoâ end with extended, powerful and elaborate fugues (âin gloria Dei Patrisâ and âet vitam venturi saeculiâ, respectively) with dramatic modulations and sometimes with enthusiastic syncopations at odds with the wordsâ accents, a la Stravinsky. The same sections plus âAgnus Deiâ end with soft quartal harmonies suggesting transcendent appeasement (similar harmonies appear powerfully at the beginning of âSanctusâ). âJudicareâ quotes the beginning of the well-known âDies iraeâ plainchant tune, and the Consecration between the âSanctusâ and âBenedictusâ 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 âAgnus Deiâ, which includes another quotation (the famous âDresden Amenâ at âqui tollis peccata mundiâ and âdona nobis pacemâ). In the final section, with its refined simplicity, the choral voices enter in descending order, and the âKyrie eleisonâ theme is briefly remembered, then it ends softly and peacefully. Total duration: 50 min. Performing Rights Organization: SOCAN. The mp3 audio clip is Kyrie.
