The ''Missa Brevis'' in D, Op. 63, is a setting of the Latin

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 ...

completed by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...

, 1959.Roseberry, 11. Set for three-part treble choir and organ, it was first performed at London's Roman Catholic

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City o ...

on 22 July of the same year.Roseberry, 11. Britten composed the mass for George Malcolm's retirement as

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

and

choirmaster A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

at Westminster:Roseberry, 11. the printed dedication reads "For George Malcolm and the boys of Westminster Cathedral Choir". It remained Britten's only liturgical setting of the mass. Malcolm's live recording, from a service at the cathedral, lasts ten minutes.

Liturgy

Britten's ''Missa Brevis'' contains only four

movements 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 ...

, omitting the

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 sett ...

, hence the name ''brevis'', short. The omission is notable because Mass at Westminster Cathedral would have included this movement. The piece rather seems predisposed towards the liturgy of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

or the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, which often omit the sung Credo.Choral and Organ Guide, 18. In 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 ...

, Britten writes an optional transition between the first

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek ...

and the

Benedictus Benedictus may refer to: Music * Benedictus (Song of Zechariah), ''Benedictus'' (''Song of Zechariah''), the canticle sung at Lauds, also called the Canticle of Zachary * The second part of the Sanctus, part of the Eucharistic prayer * Benedictus ...

. This serves two functions: 1) it allows the sections to be elided seamlessly if the work is performed non-liturgically, and 2) it allows the section to be easily cut altogether for certain liturgical purposes, e.g. in the United States, the Benedictus was not officially approved by

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

and many Episcopal churches omitted it.

Music

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 ...

immediately presents the

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

F-sharp major F-sharp major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has six sharps. The F-sharp major scale is: : Its relative minor is D-sharp minor (or enharmonically ...

relationship that is a unifying element of the work, occurring also in the Gloria and the Sanctus.Roseberry, 11. F-sharp is the key center despite the

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...

.Roseberry, 11. The movement is in

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples inclu ...

, with the central "Christe" inverting the melody of the Kyrie. The Gloria is based on a 7/8 ostinato derived from the incipit Gloria XV that would be intoned by the celebrant in some liturgical settings.Peloquin, 132. The

additive Additive may refer to: Mathematics * Additive function, a function in number theory * Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation * Additive set-functionn see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with f ...

time signature allows for various patterns of word stress. The central "Qui Tollis" juxtaposes

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

against the prevailing D / F-sharp

bitonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, ...

and contrasts short phrases for solo voice with those for

tutti ''Tutti'' is an Italian word literally meaning ''all'' or ''together'' and is used as a musical term, for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist. It is applied similarly to choral music, where the whole section or choir is called to sing. ...

unison. The Sanctus in 3/2 presents a

twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...

melodic line dominated by the interval of a

perfect fourth A fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth () is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones). For example, the ascending interval from C to ...

, and shared between the three enharmonically overlapping voices. D Lydian, F-sharp major, and F major are all suggested (the three prominent keys of the Gloria).Roseberry, 14. The "Pleni sunt caeli" section features free imitative polyphony in the voices with the original twelve-tone melody transferred to the organ pedals. The

is a bitonal duet for two soloists, the first in G major, and the second in C major. This results in parallel fourths and

false relation A false relation (also known as cross-relation, non-harmonic relation) is the name of a type of dissonance that sometimes occurs in polyphonic music, most commonly in vocal music of the Renaissance. The term describes a "chromatic contradiction" ...

s between F-sharp and F natural. Following is an exultant contraction of all of the material preceding the Benedictus into just five measures.Peloquin, 132. 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 ...

, marked "Slow and Solemn", is in D minor. In 5/4 time, an organ pedal ostinato of rising thirds outlines the interval of a

minor ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

.Roseberry, 16. The threefold repeat of the Agnus Dei text gains intensity with each repetition through rising dynamics and

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

. The closing Dona Nobis Pacem builds to fortissimo; it is set with hammered repeated notes and overlapping intervals of a second between the voices. The organ ostinato finally breaks its pattern for the last two bars and the chorus closes with a

pianississimo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependin ...

D minor triad.

Notes

References

*"A Missa Brevis By Benjamin Britten". ''Musical America'' 80, (Feb 1960), pp. 258. *"Benjamin Britten's 'Missa Brevis'". ''Choral and Organ Guide'' 13 (June–Aug 1960), pp. 18. *Britten, Benjamin. ''Missa Brevis in D''. Op. 63. London: Boosey and Hawkes, 1959. *Britten, Benjamin. ''Missa Brevis in D''. Op. 63. London: Decca, 1959. Live recording by the Westminster Cathedral Choir and George Malcolm originally released as CEP 654. *Mitchell, Donald. Ed. ''Letters from a Life: The selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten 1939–1976. Volume 2''. Berkeley; University of California Press, 1991. *Peloquin, C. Alexander. "Missa Brevis in D". ''Caecilia'' 88, No. 3 (1961), pp. 131–133. *Roseberry, Eric. "A Note on Britten's 'Missa Brevis'". ''Tempo'' No. 53/54 (Spring, 1960), pp. 11–16. {{Authority control Compositions by Benjamin Britten

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

1959 compositions Compositions in D major