“Massive!”
Programme notes:
Following on in the same vein as some previous Baroque Voices concerts (such as
“Alleluia: a newë work” in 1995, which juxtaposed 15th Century music with contemporary
NZ music; “Close Encounters of the Gothic Kind” in 1999, which juxtaposed Medieval
music (Machaut) with late Romantic music (Liszt); and “From the far point of the rising of
the sun…” in 2005, which juxtaposed and mixed Medieval and contemporary music with
jazz improvisation), “Massive” is an expedition through, and exploration of, the
development of the Latin Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus
Dei), in settings for unaccompanied vocal ensemble.
This conspectus of Mass movements spans almost 700 years, ranging from the Kyrie
from “La Messe de Nostre Dame” by Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-77) to the
contemporary “Mass of the False Relation”, written by ‘yours truly’ earlier this year.
Whilst we do not purport to be presenting this music in an appropriate liturgical context
(ie: with plainsong propers pertaining to specific feast days of the church year), I hope you
will find it a cohesive and interesting experience to listen to these various treatments of
the same texts. So that one may observe the differences (and perhaps similarities) in
compositional style through the centuries, the various Mass movements of the ‘pastiche’
missa brevis (ie: shorter mass with no polyphonic Credo) will be sung in chronological
order.
Then follows a ‘motet break’ between masses, beginning with Byrd’s beautiful “Ave
Verum Corpus”. In honour of the 250th anniversary of the birth of WA Mozart, we will
also perform (without the usual string accompaniment) Mozart’s well-known “Ave
Verum Corpus”, written in the year of his untimely death. We then leap from the late 18th
Century to the early 21st Century, with Mark Smythe’s Melbourne rock-band take on the
same “Ave Verum” text; after the interval we remain in the present day for the “Mass of
the False Relation”, then clock back about seventy years to Poulenc’s missa brevis, the
“Mass in G” – which employs a remarkable mixture of conventional and radical
harmonic ideas and, coincidentally, also makes frequent use of the technique of false
relation.
Practical notes:
♦ To help promote maximum enjoyment of this Massive musical journey, and to help
keep extraneous noise to a minimum for recording purposes, please ensure that your
mobile phone or other electronic device is switched off during the concert.
♦ We are fortunate to have available (for a $2 donation) a light supper in the foyer during the interval.
All proceeds go to the Friends of Cathedral Music. Thanks to David and Judith Shroff and David and
Margaret Hobbs for organising this.
Pepe Becker
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Programme:
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Kyrie – Guillaume de Machaut, c.1300-77
Gloria – Pennard ?, English, c.1390
Sanctus - Josquin des Prez, c.1450-1521
Benedictus – William Byrd, 1543-1623
Agnus Dei – Alessandro Scarlatti, 1660-1725
 Motet: Ave Verum Corpus – William Byrd, 1543-1623
 Motet: Ave Verum Corpus - WA Mozart, 1756-91
 Motet: Ave Verum Corpus – Mark Smythe, b.1972 (2006)
~ 10 minute Interval (supper available in the foyer) ~
 Introit: Come to Christ – Pepe Becker, b. 1966 (2001)
 Mass of the False Relation – Pepe Becker (2006)
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei
 Messe en sol majeur – Francis Poulenc, 1899-1963 (1937)
Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei
sibling composers Mark Smythe & Pepe Becker
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♦ Kyrie from La Messe de Nostre Dame – Guillaume de Machaut, c1300-77
Machaut so dominates his time as to eclipse many of his contemporaries, and seems to
encapsulate in himself almost a whole century of musical development and innovation.
His “Mass of Our Lady” is one of the earliest, probably the earliest, setting of the entire
Ordinary of the mass by one single composer – previous settings consisted of several
pieces of unequal quality and origin, all grouped together within the context of the Mass
and often named after the location where they were assembled or performed, eg: the
“Toulouse” or “Tournai” masses. A canon of Reims Cathedral, Machaut presented La
Messe de Nostre Dame to the cathedral as a votive mass in honour of the Virgin. It seems
to have been his intention that after his death it would become a memorial mass for
himself and his brother Jean (also a canon of the cathedral) – both brothers were buried
near the altar, and the mass presumably continued to be sung over them for many years.
The Gloria and Credo sections of this mass are written without the liturgical cantus
firmus (long notes derived from plainchant, usually in the tenor part, around which the
other polyphonic voice-parts weave), and are in the style of the equal-voiced polyphonic
conductus. The other four movements, including the Kyrie, use the technique of the motet,
except that, unlike the traditional motettus style, all the voice parts have the same text.
Another device which Machaut uses here (as in many of his secular works) is the hocket,
a mode of writing in which melodic lines are fragmented between two or more voice
parts, giving the effect of notes or clusters of notes being ‘thrown’ from one part to
another, creating a marked contrast to the otherwise fluid polyphonic density.
Kyrie eleison;
Christe eleison;
Kyrie eleison;
Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
♦ Gloria – Pennard? (c.1390)
English composer Pennard’s only known work is a four-part setting of the Credo,
ascribed to him in an thology called the Old Hall Manuscript, compiled between about
1415 and 1421 and kept (until 1973) at the college of St Edmund, Old Hall, near Ware,
Hertfordshire. This Gloria, actually from another source known as the Fountains
Fragment, has been attributed (by one MF Bukofzer) to Pennard, on the grounds that it is
stylistically very similar to his Credo and that both movements have a cantus firmus
taken from Trinity Sunday antiphon verses. It is a classic example of isorhythmic writing,
with rhythmic fragments of the cantus firmus repeated throughout in the tenor and
contratenor parts – which are textless and possibly would have been played on
instruments as well as or instead of being sung. As often occurs with isorhythm, note
values are halved in the latter repetitions of the plainchant cantus firmi.
Gloria in excelsis deo
Et in terra pax
Hominibus bone voluntatis.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te,
adoramus te, glorificamus te,
Gratias agimus tibi
Propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Glory to God on high
And in earth peace,
Good will towards men.
We praise you, we bless you,
we worship you, we glorify you,
We give thanks to you
For your great glory.
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Domine deus, rex celestis,
Deus pater omnipotens,
Domine fili unigenite
Jesu Christe;
Domine deus, agnus dei,
Filius patris,
O Lord God, heavenly king,
God the Father almighty,
O Lord the only begotten Son
Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God,
Son of the Father,
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Miserere nobis;
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Suscipe deprecationem nostram;
Qui sedes ad dextram patris,
Miserere nobis.
Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us;
Who takes away the sins of the world,
Receive our prayer;
Who sits at the right hand of the Father,
Have mercy on us.
Quoniam tu solus sanctus,
Tu solus dominus,
Tu solus altissimus,
Jesu Christe,
Cum sancto spiritu in Gloria
Dei patris. Amen.
For you alone are holy,
You alone are the Lord,
You alone are the most high,
Jesus Christ,
With the Holy Spirit in the glory
of God the Father. Amen.
♦ Sanctus from Missa Hercules dux Ferrariae - Josquin des Prez, c.1450-1521
French-born Josquin (Lebloitte) des Prez was one of the greatest composers of the
Renaissance, whose music served as a model to others throughout the 16th Century, yet
many details of his life remain sketchy. Though there is no documentation to show
exactly when Josquin wrote the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae, it is certain that the work
was dedicated to Duke Ercole d’Este I of Ferrara and there is evidence to suggest it was
written in the early 1480s, when Josquin was associated with the court of Milan and the
chapel of Duke Ascanio Sforza, prior to his serving at the Papal Chapel in Rome from
1489 to about 1495: duke Sforza of Milan paid an extended visit to his friend duke Ercole
of Ferrara from 1480 to 1481, and it is likely that Josquin was included in Sforza’s retinue
of some 200 men and that the mass was written during this time. The cantus firmus is
derived from the musical letters (D,C,D,F,E,D,[A]) in the Italian name Ercole d’Este, duca
di Ferrara – a practice known as sogetto cavato – and this mass is the first known example
of a sacred work employing this compositional technique.
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus,
Dominus deus sabaoth,
Pleni sunt caeli et terra Gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
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♦ Benedictus from Mass for 5 Voices (c.1595) – William Byrd, 1543-1623
Byrd, along with others (most notably his mentor and predecessor at the Chapel Royal,
Thomas Tallis), was a recusant Catholic at a time when the political clout of the Tudor
monarchy profoundly influenced the execution and development of church music in
England. Significantly, Byrd’s masses for 3, 4 and 5 voices are all in Latin, in the style of
true continental Catholic polyphony, written in the latter part of his life, after 1593, when
he had left London - where he had been bound for years by Protestant law to compose
in the more accessible English genre. Having grown tired of the persecution of many of
his friends and relatives, he resided with his family in Essex for the last 30 years of his
life, thenceforward writing most of his sacred compositions specifically for Catholic
services. Though this Latin repertoire was closest to Byrd’s own heart, it was his
Anglican music that survived immediately after his death – indeed his Short Service and
several anthems remain fixed in the cathedral repertory to this day – and it wasn’t until
the scoring of some of his Latin motets in the 18th Century that the revival of the Catholic
music of this ‘Father of Musick’ began.
Benedictus qui venit
in nomine domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Blessed is he who cometh
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
♦ Agnus Dei
from Missa ad usum Capellae Pontificiae – Alessandro Scarlatti, 1660-1725
Although to some modern music-appreciators Alessandro Scarlatti is perhaps
overshadowed by his sixth child, Domenico (born in 1685, the same year as JS Bach and
GF Handel), he was nonetheless well respected by many in his day: the Venetian patron
Pietro Ottoboni (who became Pope Alexander VIII from 1689 to 1691) had written on his
tombstone that he was ‘a supreme innovator’…’most dear to aristocrats and monarchs’.
However, life was not easy for Scarlatti: the ‘heavy burden of a large family’ (he had ten
children) meant that although he received sporadic support from various patrons in
Rome, Venice and Naples for his writing of operas, cantatas, chamber music, oratorios
and church music, he was never financially very successful and seemed to need to move
frequently from post to post to make ends meet. After a stint in Naples from 1683 (where
he was director of the Teatro San Bartolomeo) Scarlatti returned to Rome in 1703, having
been offered a post as assistant choirmaster at Santa Maria Maggiore, where he then
became maestro di capella in 1707. The Missa ad usum Capella Pontificiae (mass for use at
the Papal Chapel) was written in 1710, when the Baroque period was in full swing, yet,
due to the extreme musical conservatism of the Papacy in Rome (dating back to the
decrees imposed by the Council of Trent from 1545), his unaccompanied masses very
much adhered to the High Renaissance tradition, and stylistically this work could easily
be deemed to have been written 100 years earlier. The mass makes frequent use of
imitation between all four parts and the Agnus Dei has a cleverly devised canon in
diapente (canon in fifths) between the lower two voice parts in the final section.
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Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Miserere nobis;
have mercy on us;
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Dona nobis pacem.
Grant us thy peace.
♦ Motet: Ave Verum Corpus - William Byrd, 1543-1623
Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus appears in the first of two volumes of Gradualia, first published
in 1605 and 1607. Such was the antipathy towards Catholicism in London at the time
that there is record of someone being arrested for possession of Gradualia partbooks.
Byrd apparently withdrew the edition, then reissued both volumes (with new title
pages) in 1610. The contents of the Gradualia provided complete Mass Propers (introit,
gradual, tract or alleluia, offertory, communion) for the major feasts of the church year,
Marian feasts and Marian votive masses; and volume one includes masses of particular
importance to the Jesuits, with whom Byrd had a strong empathy. This motet is
beautiful in its simplicity, and though it makes use of false relation (which English
Renaissance composers evidently had ‘a vicious taste for’), it does so most subtly,
reflecting the sweet bitterness of the text.
Ave verum corpus,
natum de Maria virgine,
Vere passum immolatum
in cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum
unda fluxit et sanguine,
Esto nobis praegustatum
In mortis examine.
Hail true body,
born of the Virgin Mary,
who truly suffered, sacrificed
on the cross for man,
from whose pierced side
flowed (water) and blood,
be for us a foretaste (of heaven)
In the test of death.
♦ Motet: Ave Verum Corpus (1791) – WA Mozart, 1756-91
Mozart was one of those composers whose greatness was only truly recognised
posthumously, even though in his short life he poured out a prolific amount of music in
all genres. Born in Salzburg to a musical family, he quickly became known as a child
prodigy (proving extremely adept at harpsichord playing and also as a violinist) and
travelled with his father and sister at a young age, giving recitals in London and Paris.
By 1773 he had visited Italy three times and entered into the service of the Prince
Archbishop of Salzburg. He left this post after a quarrel in 1781, settling in Vienna,
where he died a pauper, leaving behind his beloved wife Constanza and two children.
Since all Mozart’s masses require instrumental accompaniment, it is only apt and
practical to perform this motet, rather than a mass movement, in this concert. Written for
the Feast of Corpus Christi (of particular importance in Mozart’s native Austria at the
time), Ave Verum was gifted to the choirmaster of the parish church in Baden, Anton
Stoll, with whom he had become friends when Constanza visited a spa nearby during
her 6th pregnancy. Dated 17 June 1791, it was first performed in Baden on Corpus Christi
day that year, only months before Mozart died on 5th December.
[see translation above]
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♦ Ave Verum (2006) – Mark Smythe, b.1972
This contribution to Pepe’s ‘Massive’ concert is directly adapted from an Autofocus
song, Here it Comes. The dual soprano melody floats over the driving lower voices just as
effectively as the voices of Autofocus do over crunching guitar and bass in the original
song. There is also a piano version, from which the more lyrical passages have been
extracted. Here are some interesting similarities between the lyrics of Here it Comes and
the Latin text of Ave :
That desire…. for some kind of beautiful end – Autofocus
Be for us a foretaste (of heaven) in the test of death – Ave Verum translation
- Mark Smythe
[see translation on previous page]
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INTERVAL
supper available in foyer
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♦ Introit (2001) and Mass of the False Relation (2006) – Pepe Becker, b.1966
Introit: Come to Christ was commissioned in 2001 by Andrew Cantrill, then director of the
Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral Wellington, and was performed during their tour of Britain
and Ireland in 2002. The Mass of the False Relation was written between July 2005 and
May 2006 and is dedicated with thanks and admiration to my stalwart singing friends
performing it with me tonight. I must acknowledge that, as well as using the Medieval
techniques of organum (parallel 4ths & 5ths) and false relation (the use of a flat or sharp
version of a note simultaneously or juxtaposed with its natural version), I have
‘borrowed’ from parts of melodies by Bach, Handel & Dowland in some movements –
some melodies are more heavily disguised than others…but I’ll leave you musicians and
listeners to decipher their derivation!
- Pepe Becker
Introit text, from 1 Peter, 2:4 Come to Christ, to that living stone, which people have rejected,
but in God’s sight chosen and precious; and like living stones, be yourselves built into a spiritual
house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ.
[Kyrie – see translation on previous pages]
[Gloria - see translation on previous pages]
Credo:
Credo in unum deum
Patrem omnipotentem,
Factorem caeli et terre,
Visibilium omnium et invisibilium,
Et in unum dominum Jesum Christum,
Filium dei unigenitum
Et ex patre natum ante omnia saecula,
I believe in one God
The Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible,
and in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten son of God,
and born of the Father before all ages,
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Deum de deo, lumen de lumine,
Deum verum de deo vero,
Genitum non factum,
Consubstantialem patri
Per quem omnia facta sunt,
God of God, light of light,
true God of true God,
begotten not made,
of one substance with the father
by whom all things were made,
Qui propter nos homines
Et propter nostram salutem
Descendit de caelis
Et incarnatus est de spiritu sancto
Ex maria virgine
Et homo factus est,
who for us men
and for our salvation
came down from heaven
and was born of the Holy Spirit
from the Virgin Mary
and was made man,
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis
Sub Pontio Pilato,
Passus et sepultus est,
Et resurrexit tertia die
Secundum scripturas,
Et ascendit in caelum;
Sedet ad dexteram patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum Gloria
Judicare vivos et mortuos,
Cujus regni non erit finis.
was crucified also for us
under Pontius Pilate,
was dead and buried,
and rose again on the third day
according to the scriptures,
and ascended into heaven;
He sits at the right hand of the Father.
And he will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
he whose kingdom has no end.
Et in spiritum sanctum
Dominum et vivificantem
Qui ex patre et filio
Simul adoratur et conglorificatu,r
Qui locutus est per prophetas.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who with the Father and the Son
together is worshipped and glorified,
who was spoken of by the prophets.
Et unam sanctam catholicam
Et apostolicam ecclesiam;
Confiteor unum baptisma
In remissionem peccatorum
Et expecto resurrectionem
Mortuorum
Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
And I believe in one holy catholic
and apostolic church;
I acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection
of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
[Sanctus - see translation on previous pages]
[Benedictus - see translation on previous pages]
[Agnus Dei - see translation on previous pages]
♦ Messe en Sol Majeur (1937) – Francis Poulenc, 1899-1963
The fact that Francis Poulenc was equally at home writing profane music as he was
composing religious works is well summed up in Claude Rostand’s remark: “In Poulenc
there is something of the monk and something of the rascal.” A complex and manicdepressive character, Poulenc was a talented pianist from a young age who divided his
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adult life between periods of concert-giving (mostly in Paris) and periods of writing (at
his house at Noizay in Touraine). A pilgrimage to Nôtre Dame de Rocamadour in 1936
resulted in his return to the Catholic faith, after which he produced a steady flow of
religious choral works, including the Mass in G in 1937. In terms of its harmonic
language, this work is a fascinating (and challenging) mix of complex piquancy and
simple conventionality. Although Poulenc described himself in 1942 as not particularly
inventive [“I know perfectly well that I’m not one of those composers who have made
harmonic innovations like Igor (Stravinsky), Ravel or Debussy, but I think there’s room
for new music which doesn’t mind using other people’s chords…”], he certainly had a
unique way of assembling ‘old notes’ so that his music makes its own individual mark.
[Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei - see translations on previous pages]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pepe Becker studied composition at Victoria University, Wellington, completing a BMus
in 1987. She then travelled overseas 1991-93, studied Baroque Singing and performed
with various ensembles in Britain, Ireland and Holland. Since her return to NZ she has
founded Baroque Voices (in 1994), had three children, become re-established as a highly
versatile performer (especially in the fields of Early and Contemporary music, singing
regularly as a soloist with choirs and orchestras throughout the country) and continues
to write music in her ‘spare time’, as well as being a member of TOWER Voices NZ and
The Tudor Consort and teaching Musicianship at the NZ School of Music.
Mark Smythe studied composition under Jack Body at Victoria University, Wellington.
His first commissioned work was for Creative NZ / Baroque Voices – “There is No
Death”, and he also wrote the Latin piece “A Solis Ortus” for the group last year.
In 1997 he moved to Auckland in order to compose and perform original music for
Theatre at Large's self-devised play Gold, which enjoyed a sell-out season.
Since late 1998 Mark has been based in Melbourne and has interspersed occasional
composition with a very active involvement in the city’s thriving rock scene. Earlier this
year he was accepted into the prestigious Australian Film, Television & Radio School,
embarking on an MA in Screen Composition. Mark is the songwriter and guitarist for
Autofocus, whose debut EP is scheduled for release in August.
Baroque Voices – upcoming concerts
Musica Sacra Concert Series 2006, directed by Robert Oliver, with period instrumental
group Academia Sanctae Mariae; all concerts at 7.30pm, St Mary of the Angels:
ARS NOVA – medieval music, SUN 24th SEPTEMBER
CANTATA – cantatas by Bach, Buxtehude & Telemann, SUN 29th OCTOBER
CHRISTMAS STORY - Schutz Christmas Story & Charpentier Messe de Minuit, with
The Tudor Consort, SUN 17TH DECEMBER.
Farewell: Sadly, this will be tenor Alastair Carey’s last concert with Baroque Voices
(for a while, at least), as he is leaving NZ to live in Britain next month. I’d like to take
this opportunity to thank Alastair for his excellent contributions to Baroque Voices
over the past three years. He will be missed by many, but we wish him well in all his
musical endeavours and look forward to working with him again in the future. - Pepe
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