' (

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 elementar ...

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

), FP 89, is a

missa brevis Missa brevis (plural: Missae breves) is . The term usually refers to a mass composition that is short because part of the text of the Mass ordinary that is usually set to music in a full mass is left out, or because its execution time is relati ...

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

. He set most parts of the Latin mass to music in 1937, scored for a mixed choir a cappella.

History

Poulenc turned to sacred music first in 1937 when he composed the mass ''Messe en sol majeur''. He dedicated it to the memory of his father who had died some years before. He set all the parts of the Latin mass, with the exception of the Credo, in 1937, scored for a soprano soloist and a mixed choir a cappella. As he omitted the Credo, it is technically a

, in five

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

s: : I Kyrie (Animé et très rythmé) : II Gloria (Très animé) : III Sanctus (Très allant et doucement joyeux) : IV Benedictus (Calme mais sans lenteur) : V Agnus Dei (Très pur, très clair et modéré) The choral writing for unaccompanied choir has been described as of "cool purity". The first performance was sung in Paris on 3 April 1938 by Les Chœurs de Lyon. There are numerous recordings of the mass; the earliest may be a ca.1940 recording on 78 rpm of Les Chanteurs de Lyon (another name for Les Chœurs de Lyon, according to BNF) conducted by

Ernest Bourmauck Ernest Bourmauck (18.. – 1944) was a French choir leader and conductor. Very little is known about him except that he worked closely with Gabriel Fauré, particularly premiering the French composer's Requiem and Francis Poulenc's Mass in G mino ...

between 1934 and 1942 when he was succeeded by

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the con ...

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Francis Poulenc, state=collapsed Compositions by Francis Poulenc

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

1937 compositions Compositions in G major