Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.719523 Composed by Curtis Hanson. Christian,Sacred. Octavo. 59 pages. Curtis Hanson #2032867. Published by Curtis Hanson (A0.719523). The Missa Millennia was composed during the spring of 2000 and premiered the following November by the choirs of the John Duss Music Conservatory, Duluth, MN. Scored for a chamber orchestra of strings, keyboard, and solo oboe (full score and instrumental parts available separately), the work is not so much a celebration of the new millennium as it is an assimilation of many of the musical styles, characteristics, and forms of the previous thousand years. The entire piece is in the form of the traditional Mass, a musical form having its origins in the Middle Ages, and is divided into the five movements commonly found in the Mass Ordinary: Kyrie (Lord, have mercy), Gloria (Glory to God in the highest), Credo (the Nicene Creed), Sanctus – Benedictus (Holy, holy, holy – Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord), and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). In the final movement, the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace) concludes the work. Although the Missa Millennia as a whole is distinctly contemporary, elements from many earlier musical periods are incorporated into the movements. These include chant, open fifth and parallel fifth harmonic movement (organum), and canonic imitation from the Middle Ages and Renaissance; fugue, word-painting, terraced dynamics, ostinato (a repeated rhythmic or bass accompaniment), Alberti bass accompaniment figures, ABA form, and dominant-tonic harmonic relationships typical of Baroque and Classical music to name but a few. Other significant features are the usage of non-Western modality in the plaintive solo oboe and of pedal point, a sustained tone in the bass over which the melody and harmony evolve. Pedal point, a compositional tool used throughout music history, dates from the Middle Ages about the time of St. Francis. Although not directly based upon the music of any composer, the astute listener may hear musical ideas reminiscent of Vivaldi, Vaughan Williams, Respighi, Duruflé, and others. In the audio file, the 2nd movement (Gloria) can be found at approximately 6'25, the 3rd movement (Credo) at 12'05, the 4th movement (Sanctus) at 21'15, and the final movement (Agnus Dei) at 31'05. The complete Mass is approximately 43 minutes long.
