sacred music

Missa Brevis: 5 Agnus Dei

Posted by sara-garrard

The last part of the mass setting, and by far the angstiest. I need to think how to explain this properly for a commentary but — well, I guess we’re concentrating on the weight of the sins of the world aspect, and the pain/sacrifice of Jesus being the lamb of God.

Also, the Dona nobis pacem — grant us peace…. I feel like those words had almost the most weight of meaning and expectation in setting of all of this, because they’re very direct, especially coming at the end, and there’s something of a tradition of singing them as a prayer for world peace…  Here they’re laid out very plain and cold and simple, and that’s intentional.

Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi
miserere nobis
Agnus Dei, qui tolis 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
grant us peace.

Missa Brevis: 4. Benedictus

Posted by sara-garrard

this might be my favourite.  Also the closest in spirit to Arvo Pärt, maybe?  It holds onto the repetition a lot.  Again, setting both the sounds of the words on the small scale — I absolutely love how “in nomine Domini” feels to speak or sing — and the sense of the words on the large scale: blessedness.

Benedictus qui venit
in nomine Domini.
Osanna in excelsis.

Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Missa Brevis: 3. Sanctus

Posted by sara-garrard

This is shortest and simplest (?) movement — it also seemed to be catchiest and a lot of people’s favourite even though it’s actually only sung by a small group of us altos.  (That’s me in the duet at the start!)

I’ve sung a few mass settings since I was young in choirs so the words are familiar, and then I did Latin and learnt what they actually meant….  So what I’m doing here is playing with that familiarity like to an extent the words just become nice sounds — and pleni sunt coeli by itself is just a fragment (“full are the heavens—” (first part of “heaven and earth are full of your glory”) but the rhymey-ness of it is so fun.  But also I was definitely trying to set the overall meaning of the text, and again I wanted to do it a in a specific way, like, happy and bouncy — like a work song or an every day song (I had been listening to Estonian folk/work songs)  If we’re singing God is holy and everywhere is full of that glory it should be sung like… an every-day gloriousness, no less glorious for that of course…. and happy!

As one of the people singing it, it is just possible to breathe it! Just.

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.  Hosanna in the highest.