''Berliner Messe'' (or ''Berlin Mass'') is a mass setting by

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n composer

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

. Commissioned for the 90th

Katholikentag ''Katholikentag'' () is a festival-like gathering in German-speaking countries organized by laity of the Catholic Church. ''Katholikentag'' festivals occur approximately every 2–4 years in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. ''Katholikentag'' ...

in Berlin in 1990,''Berliner Messe''

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-base ...

, accessed September 14, 2014 it was originally scored for

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

soloists and

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

. It was first performed at St. Hedwig's Cathedral on 24 May 1990, the

Feast of the Ascension The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared by ...

, with

Paul Hillier Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-foun ...

conducting the

Theatre of Voices Theatre of Voices is a vocal ensemble founded by baritone Paul Hillier in 1990;www.paulhillier.net
. Retrieved March 9, 2 ...

. Pärt later (1997) revised the piece for chorus and string orchestra. Pärt uses his ''

tintinnabuli Tintinnabuli (singular. ''tintinnabulum''; from the Latin ''tintinnabulum'', "a bell") is a compositional style created by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, introduced in his ''Für Alina'' (1976), and used again in ''Spiegel im Spiegel'' (1978). ...

'' technique throughout, with movements taking many forms within that style—flowing from quietly reverent duets between parts to full chorus proclamations of faith.

Structure

The work consists of five movements of the

Mass ordinary The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the '' ...

and three movements intended for the celebration of

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

: *

Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives fr ...

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

* ''Erster Alleluiavers'' (First

Alleluia Alleluia (derived from the Hebrew ''Hallelujah'', meaning "Praise Yahweh") is a Latin phrase in Christianity used to give praise to God. In Christian worship, Alleluia is used as a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of ...

) * ''Zweiter Alleluiavers'' (Second Alleluia) *

Veni Sancte Spiritus "Veni Sancte Spiritus", sometimes called the Golden Sequence, is a sequence prescribed in the Roman Liturgy for the Masses of Pentecost and its octave, exclusive of the following Sunday. It is usually attributed to either the thirteenth-ce ...

Credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed – or its shorter version, the Apostles' Creed – in the Mass, either as a prayer, a spoken text, or sung as Gregorian chant or other musical setti ...

Sanctus The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In Western Christianity, the ...

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the " Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and ...

The fact that the mass was originally written for

is evidenced by the presence of the two Alleluias and the Veni Sancte Spiritus. However, Pärt has also set two Alleluia verses to permit the work to be used at Christmas. All five of these movements are marked "ad lib." in the score.

Recordings

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's princip ...

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra Tallinn Chamber Orchestra (TCO, et, Tallinna Kammerorkester) is a chamber orchestra located in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The orchestra was established in 1993 by the conductor Tõnu Kaljuste. The orchestra's music is mainly distribute ...

, dir.

Tõnu Kaljuste Tõnu Kaljuste (born August 28, 1953) is an Estonian conductor. Born in Tallinn, Kaljuste is the son of Heino Kaljuste (1925–1989), an Estonian choral conductor, and Lia Kaljuste, a radio journalist. Tõnu sang in his father's choirs as a chil ...

(choir/string orchestra, 1993) *

Oregon Repertory Singers The Oregon Repertory Singers (ORS) is a mixed vocal ensemble in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1974. The choir performs a wide range of works from all time periods and languages, although over the years a special emphasis has been placed on contemp ...

, dir.

Gilbert Seeley Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (Sout ...

(choir/organ, 1993) *

Polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

, dir.

Stephen Layton Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor. Biography Layton was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College a ...

(choir/organ, 1998) *

Theatre of Voices Theatre of Voices is a vocal ensemble founded by baritone Paul Hillier in 1990;www.paulhillier.net
. Retrieved March 9, 2 ...

, dir.

(soloists/organ, 2000) *

Elora Festival Singers Elora may refer to: * Elora, Ontario, a community in Ontario, Canada * Elora, Tennessee, an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States * Elora the Faun, a character in the ''Spyro the Dragon'' series video games * Elora D ...

, dir.

Noel Edison Noel Edison (born November 16, 1958) is a Canadian conductor. He is currently the conductor of the Edison Singers. Born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of George and Marian Clarissa (Frost), Edison graduated from Jarvis Collegiate in 1978 and Wilf ...

(choir/string orchestra, 2004) *

Moscow Virtuosi The Moscow Virtuosi is a chamber orchestra founded in 1979 by Vladimir Spivakov, who has been the orchestra's conductor, soloist and creative director ever since. In 1982, the orchestra received the name "State Chamber Orchestra of the Ministry ...

, dir.

Vladimir Spivakov Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov (Russian: Влади́мир Теодо́рович Спивако́в; born 12 September 1944) is a Soviet and Russian conductor and violinist best known for his work with the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra. Spiva ...

(choir/string orchestra, 2004) * Byrd Ensemble, dir. Markdavin Obenza (choir/organ, 2013) The Kyrie was featured in the film, '' Avengers: Age of Ultron''.

References

External links

Berliner Messe in its original Latin text and English translation
{{authority control Compositions by Arvo Pärt Part, Arvo 1990 compositions Compositions for organ