«
Missa Brevis »
Duration
: 10/12 minutes
(Kyrie : 4' - Sanctus : 4'20 - Agnus Dei : 3'40)
This «
Missa Brevis », composed in 1995-1996 for a chorus of mixt voices
and organ, was inspired by certain aspects of works dating back to the
Renaissance. It is characterized by a research of beauty in the vocal
treatment of the melodic lines, which have to combine each other with
flexibility and clarity.
Generally it is a three-part polyphony : Soprani, Alti, Baritones.
The treatment of the words, either syllabic or melismatic, aims at making
the meaning of the text as perceptible as possible.
The vocal phrases can be either doubled at the same pitch level by the
organ or not (ad libitum).
The music does not refer to diatonism or chromatism. From beginning to
end it exploits the same scale, artificially conceived, with an axis of
symmetry and a rather large ambitus (more than one octave).
It can be said that the music is based on one single harmonic field treated
in various ways according to the sections, which gives the piece its unity.
For that reason it will be made the most of any element capable of creating
contrasts or renewing interest like : change of meter, change of register,
juxtaposition of flexible episodes with strong-pulsed sequences etc.
A special care is given to articulation, phrasing, stressing, attacks
of notes etc.
On the whole it is rather difficult but some amateur choruses made it
successfully.
Unpublished
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