Masses

What are some good masses? The standards, Bach's Mass in B Minor, Mozart's Requiem and his Mass in C Minor and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis are obvious, but surely there are other really great ones, too. I've really only listened to Bach's in B Minor, Mozart's Requiem and some modern masses including Ligeti's Requiem.

So...what are your favorites?

Byrd's Masses

Tomas Luis de Victoria's Masses

John Rutter's Requiem Mass

and the non-liturgical Britten's Requiem

Those are some of the ones I remembered off the top of my head.

More uber standard requiem masses:

Faure [Op.48]

Brahms [Op.45]

Schubert (Deutsche Singmesse ftw [D.872])

Schumann [Op.148]

Verdi

Dvorak [Op.89]

Cherubini (wrote many masses, two of which are requiems, one of which was writen for his own funeral. Beethoven was a huge fan)

Berlioz [Op.5]

Palestrina (Missa Papae Marcelli is considered his most famous, but he wrote over 100, so, yeah.)

Most of these people (and others not mentioned) wrote masses besides their famous ones. I reccomend you just search everything you can because there is a huge body of work when it comes to the western mass.

I almost bought a recording of Bernstein's Mass today, opted instead for his symphonies

Schubert's G major mass is great! I also like Canniciari's A minor mass.

This is huge Voce -

Medieval/Renaissance -

Ockeghem's Requiem and many Masses

Dufay has written some wonderful "parody " masses.

Liturgical music (eg Salve Reginas, Song of Songs etc)

Gibbons (Oh ye clap your hands)

Purcell

Gombert

Lassus (Penitential Psalms are FANTASTIC, you can get an excellent recording by Henry's Eight on Hyperion and inexpensive)

Baroque -

Zelenka, I recommend his Lamentations

Classical/Romantic

Rheinberger, a contemporary of Brahms and excellent composer, wrote a fine mass and litugical music

BRUCKNER!! - not crazy about his orchestral work but he has to be one of the finest choral writers ever. Get his two masses and motets -- and be sure to get a good one (avoid the Naxos one).

20th century onward -

Janacek - Glagoltic Mass - I don't know it well but what I have heard is quite fascinating

Poulenc - Salve Regina and he has written a Mass. His choral output is excellent.

Messiaen - Cinq Rechants -- Very cool combination of the erotic and religious. Based on the Song of Songs.

Bernstein - Chichester Psalms, I am not a big Bernstein fan but this is one of his best work and a "classic of modern choral literature.

For short Masses, Mozart wrote a bunch of Missae Breve (plural of Missa Brevis) while he was in Salzburg. They're among my favourite of his early works.

Haydn's later Masses are masterpieces: I would recommend Missa in tempore belli (Mass in Time of War, also called Paukenmesse), Missa in angustiis (Lord Nelson Mass), and Missa Solemnis in B-flat.

I completely concur with composerorganist about Rheinberger. His 8-part a cappella Cantus Missae in E-flat is to me one of the great choral gems of the 19th Century. Rheinberger was a consummate master of counterpoint; in his day, only Brahms was greater.

Haydn's, Mozart's, Bach's short ones, all of Palestrinas...

The words to the mass have attracted a plethora of great composers... I might also suggest Vivaldi's Kyrie, Gloria, and Credo (honestly, they're not in the same keys at all, but you could kinda pretend it's all one big mass... and the Gloria was written for a "short mass)

Don't forget Machaut's Notre Dame mass and Josquin Desprez's Masses on L'Homme Arne... actually, all of Josquin's masses are amazing... Although I'm Catholic, I can totally agree with Luther's statement that "other composers (of the era) are servants to the notes... Josquin makes the notes his servants..." well, it sounds kinda like that.

Don't forget Machaut's Notre Dame mass and Josquin Desprez's Masses on L'Homme Arme

Absolutely! And if you're going to go back that far, Dufay's Masses are also wonderful.

Janacek - Glagoltic Mass - I don't know it well but what I have heard is quite fascinating

Poulenc - Salve Regina and he has written a Mass. His choral output is excellent.

Messiaen - Cinq Rechants -- Very cool combination of the erotic and religious. Based on the Song of Songs.

Bernstein - Chichester Psalms, I am not a big Bernstein fan but this is one of his best work and a "classic of modern choral literature.

Janacek's and Bernstein's are definitely some of my favorites. I'll have to check out the other two for sure, along with the other ones you posted.

I've heard a lot of Palestrina's, they're great. Can't say I've heard (or even heard OF, for that matter,) Machaut's or Josprin's. Or Dufay's.

Voce -

If you have not heard Josquin's, Dufay's or Ockeghem, I'd recommend the Dufay and Mauchaut first. Josquin is great but I favor his motets and smaller liturgical words.

I'd STRONGLY recommend Lassus Penitential Psalms.

And I see Rheinberger has been mentioned twice --- do get it . It is an absolutely gorgeous mass in the Romantic style.

The literature is so large and many excellent suggestions have been given. Any particular reason for this exploration?

The literature is so large and many excellent suggestions have been given. Any particular reason for this exploration?

Lately I've been trying to familiarize myself with vocal music, religious stuff and art songs in particular. Plus I'm just interested in masses, for some weird reason. :P

I understand. I got into Renaissance Masses and liturgical music after

1) studying two ans three part Palestrinian counterpoint.

2)attending Vespers services featuring Bach Cantatas on period instruments and performed in accordance with the liturgical season. The music director would include all these wonderful liturgical pieces by Bach contemporaries or earlier.

I agree..Bruckner wrote some really sexy masses. His te deum is divine as well.

Two excellent Portuguese masses can be found on this inexpensive recording:

FK

Has mention been made yet of Faure's Requiem? Or of Brahms' A German Requiem? Equally superb, and neither as conspicuously pious or as respectfully reverential as one would normally expect in a mass. Refreshing works, both.

FK

For short Masses, Mozart wrote a bunch of Missae Breve (plural of Missa Brevis) while he was in Salzburg. They're among my favourite of his early works.

Totally agree with you here, Mozart's Missae Breve are some of my favorites, especially from his early stuff. Really love the ones in C (K 259) and B flat (K 275).

Isn't it marvelous how he was able to cram all that text into less than 15 minutes of music total, and still make textual and musical sense out of all in an exquisite little work of art? I think they're brilliant. :D