SKU: A0.1277133

Missa Solemnis in B major, op. 27 (conductor's score).
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 „Filioque� (which would still fit the rhythm of the repeated „qui ex Patre�, should any Catholics ever wish to perform this as a mass) make it rather a „liturgical oratorio for all nations�, more appropriate in the concert hall. 

The work has had a long gestation: imagined in 1984 after the composer’s first contact with Beethoven’s 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), „rex caelestis� and also at his Passion (whose setting is discretely inspired by folkloric Romanian laments), the „anabasis� gesture at „Gloria in excelsis Deo�, „et ascendit in caelis�, „in remissionem peccatorum� and the resurrection, a flute trill standing for the Holy Spirit who has come ’like a dove’ at „et incarnatus est�, a cross-shaped texture at „crucifixus�, and some word-painting (hushed sonorities at „et invisibilium�, anticipations between orchestra and chorus at „et exspecto� 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). 

„Kyrie� is restrained and soft, besides the powerful chords opening the respective sections of its tripartite, simple structure, and it leans towards Palestrina’s serene modality and counterpoint. „Gloria� 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. „Credo� has an orchestral introduction as well, but powerful, recurring and based on the beginning of the plainchant hymn „Pange lingua�, made famous by Mozart’s last symphony and by other Classical composers. Both „Gloria� and „Credo� end with extended, powerful and elaborate fugues („in gloria Dei Patris� and „et vitam venturi saeculi�, respectively) with dramatic modulations and sometimes with enthusiastic syncopations at odds with the words’ accents, a la Stravinsky. The same sections plus „Agnus Dei� end with soft quartal harmonies suggesting transcendent appeasement (similar harmonies appear powerfully at the beginning of „Sanctus�). „Judicare� quotes the beginning of the well-known „Dies irae� plainchant tune, and the Consecration between the „Sanctus� and „Benedictus� 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 „Agnus Dei�, which includes another quotation (the famous ’Dresden Amen’ at „qui tollis peccata mundi� and „dona nobis pacem�). In the final section, with its refined simplicity, the choral voices enter in descending order, and the „Kyrie eleison� theme is briefly remembered, then it ends softly and peacefully. 

Total duration: 50 min. Performing Rights Organization: SOCAN. The mp3 audio clip is Kyrie.