The French Organ Mass is a type of
Low Mass
Low Mass (Latin ''Missa lecta'', "read Mass") is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as a Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him. A ...
that came into use during the
Baroque era. Essentially it is a
Low Mass
Low Mass (Latin ''Missa lecta'', "read Mass") is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as a Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him. A ...
with
organ music
The organ repertoire is considered to be the largest and oldest repertory of all musical instruments. Because of the organ's (or pipe organ's) prominence in worship in Western Europe from the Middle Ages on, a significant portion of organ repert ...
playing throughout: part of the so-called
alternatim Alternatim refers to a technique of liturgical musical performance, especially in relationship to the Organ Mass, but also to the Hymns, Magnificat and ''Salve regina'' traditionally incorporated into the Vespers and other liturgies of the Catholic ...
practice.
History
The French Organ Mass is a classic example of the so-called ''
alternatim Alternatim refers to a technique of liturgical musical performance, especially in relationship to the Organ Mass, but also to the Hymns, Magnificat and ''Salve regina'' traditionally incorporated into the Vespers and other liturgies of the Catholic ...
'' practice, a term which indicates a type of liturgy when alternate sections of liturgical items (such as a
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
or a
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...
) were performed by different forces.
[Higginbottom, Grove.] In organ ''alternatim'' practice—and so, in the French Organ Mass—the organist plays when texts would otherwise have been sung. The tradition stemmed from the
antiphonal
An antiphonary or antiphonal is one of the liturgical books intended for use (i.e. in the liturgical choir), and originally characterized, as its name implies, by the assignment to it principally of the antiphons used in various parts of the ...
psalmody
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
of the early Western church.
In France, organ playing was regulated by printed "ceremonials", which specified precisely when the organist should play. The surviving ceremonials are all similar in outline, but differ widely in details. A typical organ Mass comprised versets for the ordinary of the Mass except for the Credo (which was to be sung in its entirety).
One of the most important extant ceremonials was written in 1662 and regulated the
diocese of Paris
The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in Franc ...
. According to this ceremonial, the organ begins the
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 f ...
and alternates with the choir through ninefold repetitions (and so ends the Kyrie as well). After the priest intones the first line of the
Gloria, the organ again begins the alternation with the choir. After the final verse of the Gloria (which began at "in gloria Dei Patris") the organist would accompany the
Offertory: this time there is no alternation and the music does not replace the chant as earlier (while there are texts for the Offertory, they are not for the choir). After the Offertory comes the
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, th ...
, followed by the
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
, a high point in the liturgy. The Sanctus begins with an organ verse and proceeds in any of the following three ways:
* the Benedictus is substituted with an organ verset, and then a second organ solo accompanies the Elevation
* the Benedictus is sung, and then the organist accompanies the Elevation
* a single organ verset covers both the Benedictus (instead of the singing) and the following Elevation
This is followed by 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 ...
, which consists of three parts. The organ begins this part of the liturgy and alternates with the choir. At the
Holy Communion the music either accompanies the distribution of the elements or at the antiphon played just before that. At the end of the Mass the priest sang the last words, "ite missa est", and the organist performed the response, "Deo gratias." A Psalm verse follows, and sometimes after it there is a "sortie", a procession.
Altogether, an average Mass would comprise about 20 versets. Church contracts that survive from that time show that the organist played not only at every Mass, but also during various other offices and ceremonies. An organist may have been required to play at as many as 400 services a year, which means that much—if not all—of the music was improvised, and the surviving masses can be regarded as models for such improvisations. Musically, the majority of the organ Masses were modelled after the ''Missa cunctipotens genitor'' (Mass IV in the modern collection), which contained chant melodies. However, composers differed on how they treated these melodies in their works. The 1662 ceremonial specified that the original melodies had to be clearly audible in certain versets, and in cases when ''Missa cunctipotens'' was used, organists generally complied.
Composers
The following is a list of composers of French organ masses, arranged chronologically by date of publication of their masses.
*
Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers
Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c. 1632, Paris – 13 November 1714) was a French organist, composer and theorist. His first ''livre d'orgue'' is the earliest surviving published collection with traditional French organ school forms (a collection by Lou ...
(1632–1714)
** a mass in ''Second livre d'orgue'' (1667)
*
Nicolas Lebègue Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue (also ''Le Bègue''; c. 16316 July 1702) was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was born in Laon and in the 1650s settled in Paris, quickly establishing himself as one of the best organists of the ...
(1631–1702)
** a mass in ''Second livre d'orgue'' (1678)
*
Nicolas Gigault
Nicolas Gigault (ca. 1627 – 20 August 1707) was a French Baroque organist and composer. Born into poverty, he quickly rose to fame and high reputation among fellow musicians. His surviving works include the earliest examples of noëls and a volum ...
(c. 1627–1707)
** three masses in ''Livre de musique pour l'orgue'' (1685)
*
André Raison
André Raison (c. 1640 – 1719) was a French Baroque composer and organist. During his lifetime he was one of the most famous French organists and an important influence on French organ music. He published two collections of organ works, in 16 ...
(1640s–1719)
** five masses in ''Premier livre d'orgue'' (1688)
*
François Couperin (1668–1733)
** ''Messe à l'usage ordinaire des paroisses'' (1689–90)
** ''Messe propre pour les couvents de religieux et religieuses'' (1689–90)
*
Nicolas de Grigny
Nicolas de Grigny (baptized 8 September 1672 – November 30, 1703) was a French organist and composer. He died young and left behind a single collection of organ music, and an ''Ouverture'' for harpsichord.
Life
Nicolas de Grigny was born in R ...
(1672–1703)
** ''La Messe'' in ''Premier livre d'orgue'' (1699)
*
Gaspard Corrette
Gaspard Corrette (c. 1671before 1733) was a French composer and organist.
He was born around 1671, probably in Rouen, where he was organist for the church of St-Herbland. In approximately 1720 he moved to Paris. The exact date of his death is no ...
(1670–c. 1733)
** ''Messe du 8e Ton pour l'Orgue à l'Usage des Dames Religieuses'' (1703)
*
Michel Corrette
Michel Corrette (10 April 1707 – 21 January 1795) was a French composer, organist and author of musical method books.
Life
Corrette was born in Rouen, Normandy. His father, Gaspard Corrette, was an organist and composer. Little is known of ...
(1707–1795)
** masses of the ''Troisième livre d'orgue'' (1756)
* Monsieur Le Clerc (fl. 1765-1783)
** 4 masses in the ''Journal de pièces d'orgue formant huit Magnificat et quatre messes'' (1780)
*
Josse-François-Joseph Benaut (1743–1794)
** at least 10 masses in numerous ''Livres des pièces d'orgue''
Additionally, an anonymous manuscript (Paris Conservatoire Rés.746, formerly 24827) created around 1680 contains an organ mass by an unknown composer. The manuscript was attributed by
Amédée Gastoué
Amédée Henri Gustave Noël Gastoué (19 March 1873 – 1 June 1943) was a French musicologist and composer.
Biography
A Kapellmeister at the , professor of gregorian chant at the Schola Cantorum of Paris, Gastoué was particularly interest ...
to a member of the Geoffroy family, probably
Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy (1633 – 11 March 1694) was a French harpsichordist, organist and composer.The registration of baroque organ music Barbara Owen - 1997 "Jean-Nicolas Geoffrey (fl. 1633-94)" His birthplace is unknown; he died in Perpigna ...
, however, according to later research, there is no evidence for such attribution.
[Apel 1972, 746.]
See also
*
Deutsche Singmesse
Notes
References
*
Apel, Willi. 1972. ''The History of Keyboard Music to 1700''. Translated by Hans Tischler. Indiana University Press. . Originally published as ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700'' by Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel.
*
* Silbiger, Alexander. 2004. ''Keyboard Music Before 1700''. Routledge.
{{Seven Sacraments
Catholic liturgy
Tridentine Mass
Compositions for organ