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.