Missa Brevis (Bernstein)

The Missa Brevis by Leonard Bernstein is a musical setting of selected texts from the Ordinary of the Mass for a mixed a cappella choir with countertenor solo and incidental percussion. It is also Bernstein’s last complete choral work due to his death a year after its completion in 1989.

Overview

The origin of the piece lies in the incidental chorus music that Bernstein composed for an adaption of the play by Jean Anouilh called The Lark, directed by Lillian Hellman in 1955. The play’s plot covers the events surrounding Joan of Arc and her trial. This led Bernstein to compose the chorus music to sound very Medieval to early Renaissance in quality and texture to suit the atmosphere provided by the play itself.

Robert Shaw, conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, came to watch one of the first performances of the play. After the show, Shaw approached Bernstein and suggested that the incidental chorus music be adapted into a unified choral piece to produce a compelling Missa Brevis. Thirty three years later, Bernstein followed Shaw’s suggestion and completed Missa Brevis in honor of Shaw’s retirement from the position of music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1988. Shaw would later premiere and record the work with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus.

In this first recording of the piece, certain passages of the liturgical text from the Gloria and Agnus Dei were not performed. These passages were later added for the scores publication by Bernstein with the assistance of George Steel.

Bernstein’s Missa Brevis is still performed frequently. Its length makes it suitable to be used in a liturgical setting, and it is substantial enough to be used as a set piece in a concert.

Movements

Kyrie

Written in the key of C, with extensions beyond functional harmony, this very short movement only last thirteen measures. This setting of the text is quite unconventional in comparison to settings by other composers. While most settings focus on the word “eleison”, meaning “have mercy”, through repetition and elongation of the word, Bernstein focuses on the word “kyrie”, meaning “Lord”, instead. Looking at the score it becomes apparent that for each time the word “eleison” is sung, the word "kyrie” is sung twice. The focus on the word “kyrie” creates a percussive quality to the movement as each “k” is sounded. According to Bernstein’s markings, the movement should slowly crescendo from the start and peak to a forte at measure eight where it begins to diminuendo towards a half cadence that goes into the next movement. Bernstein’s focus on the word "kyrie" combined with the slow but drastic dynamic contrast creates a sense of intense pleading. This may have been inspired by The Lark, as it is a sensation that Joan of Arc might have felt the hours before her execution.

Gloria

Most of the material from this movement is directly derived from the chorus in The Lark titled, “Gloria." It is however lengthened in the published score of Missa Brevis to fit the additional text of “laudate dominum.”

Although the movement tonally centers around A, Bernstein’s frequent placement of non-resolving non-harmonic tones create ambiguity in the tonality of the movement. The first eleven measures is a fluctuation between A major and A minor before it settles to a sort of E minor in measure twelve. This serves as an introduction to the countertenor soloist.

The next twenty-five measures sets the text “laudamus te.” During this time Bernstein moves from E minor into E major, taking the movement into the text “gratias," which keeps shifting between C major and F major for roughly fourteen measures. Settling in C minor, Bernstein starts “domine deus”, the longest portion of text in the movement. He continues into “quoniam” and finishes the movement in C minor with bells playing at fortissimo.

Bernstein lays out the instructions for the bell playing as follows:

There are two sets of bells, one in each wing or on each side of the chorus, each having at least three different notes (any notes at all, but preferably covering a wide range). The notes should be sounded one at a time at the most rapid possible tempo."

The harmonic language in this movement is described as being a blend of Medieval and Renaissance styles with the musical styles that were being produced in mid-twentieth century America. It has also been explained as containing “vital rhythms” and “pungent harmonies.” It is a good general description Missa Brevis as a whole.

“Gloria” is not only the longest movement in Missa Brevis, but is also considered to be the most difficult to sing. The movement demands perfect tuning with straight tone singing all while maintaining a high tessitura for the sopranos, tenors, and basses. Like all other movements of Missa Brevis, “Gloria” is also completely a cappella apart from the percussion which does not provide much help in terms of pitch for the singers who are often singing hard to tune added non-chord tones. A combination of these factors can make it challenging to keep good intonation throughout the movement.

Sanctus

An engrossing movement in terms of tonality, Bernstein employs the use of several modes in “Sanctus.” Much of it seems to be shifting between G major and a sort of dorian mode set in G. The countertenor solo is a main feature in this movement. After the first four opening measures, which is marked misterioso and piano, Bernstein creates what is reminiscent of an organum. With each part in the choir sustaining a drone on the pitches of G and D, the countertenor soloist is to freely sing a mixolydian chant starting with “Deus, Deus Sabaoth.”

The shifting of homophonic yet discant-like use of harmony followed by drones with florid melodic activity further perpetuates a Medieval quality. Bernstein effectively creates an esthetic that reminds the ear of music from the 14th century.

Benedictus

Although beginning a new set of text, “Benedictus” is considered to be a continuation of “Sanctus.” This semi-movement proceeds to use the same structural format laid out in “Sanctus.” Much of it involves the countertenor soloist performing a chant-like recitative followed by a choral response on the text “osanna in excelsis.”

The dynamics could be described as explosively contrasting. The use of crescendo in this part of the work is quite extensive and there is frequent movement between forte and piano.

Agnus Dei

Bernstein leads the opening material from “Gloria” into the start of “Agnus Dei.” The opening chords are almost exactly the same. It tonally ventures from A major and A minor to F-sharp minor at the repetition found on measure 15. By measure 30, Bernstein dabs into the implementation of F-sharp major to finish on the text “qui tollis pecata mundi", which translates to “who takes away the sins of the world.”

Dona Nobis Pacem

A continuation of “Benedictus”, “Dona Nobis Pacem” starts as the previous section of the movement settles from F-sharp major into a fluctuation of A major and A minor. The result lands the tonal center back to C major at measure 11. It is here that Bernstein starts to use a six note stepwise scale starting on C as the basis for melodic material.

Rhythmically, this final section of Missa Brevis is very dance-like. It employs triple meter and although not printed, appears to be shifting between 3/4 and 6/8. The percussion is also instructed to improvise its part creating each performance of the piece truly unique in timbre and texture.

Recordings

Unlike many of Bernstein’s other works, Missa Brevis is one that he had never performed or recorded, as he died a year after its completion. There are currently three prominent professional recordings of the piece; the first was recorded in 1989 by the Atlanta Symphony Chorus under the direction of Robert Shaw in a CD that also contains performances of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. This recording is the performed in its first pre-published form which was missing the later added text in the "Gloria."

The second is recorded by the BBC Singers under the direction of Leonard Slatkin in 2003. This is the first recording of Missa Brevis in its complete entirety with its full text.

The third is a recent recording (2014) by the Southwest Radio Vocal Ensemble Stuttgart, conducted by Marcus Creed. It appears in its entirety on the album America, along with other choral works by the American composers Aaron Copland, Steve Reich, John Cage, Morton Feldman, and Samuel Barber.

Reception

Missa Brevis has received some favorable reviews as a Bernstein composition. The work garners some attention as it is quite unique compared to Bernstein's other choral works. The Medieval and Renaissance blend that Bernstein composed the work in is not seen in his other works. This may have been due to his constant tendency to try something new or different. The counterpoint in Missa Brevis has been described as excellent. It has been called a “compact jewel” by the American Record Guide. A review in Gramophone stated that the work’s particular ensemble requirement brings out the Medieval overtones as well as giving the work a “modern tang.”

External links

• Gottlieb, Jack. “The choral music of Leonard Bernstein; reflections of theatre and liturgy.” American Choral Review 10. 4 (1968): 155
• Pasles, Chris. “Pacific Chorale to Sing One of Leonard Bernstein's Last Works : Tribute: The famed conductor's Missa Brevis, a difficult and rhythmic piece, will debut in an expanded format Wednesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center,” Los Angeles Times, (October 30, 1990).
• Stearns, David P. The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Performing Bernstein music from a 1955 Joan of Arc Play.” (March 1, 2011).
• Terry. "Recordings in Review: Walton / Bernstein." Musical America 110, no. 5 (1990): 85-85.