| dc.description.abstract | Divine Service: A Lutheran Mass is a seven-movement work lasting about twenty-five minutes. The movements correspond to sections of the Roman Catholic Eucharistic liturgy, using English translations from Lutheran Service Book. These movements make up the traditional Lutheran order of service from which the title of the work is taken: 1. Lord, Have Mercy (Kyrie) 2. Glory to God in the Highest (Gloria) 3. What Shall I Render? (Offertory) 4. Holy, Holy, Holy (Sanctus) 5. Lamb of God (Agnus Dei) 6. Thank the Lord (Canticle) 7. Benediction (Concluding Rite/Blessing) The goal of this piece was to create a musically substantial setting of the liturgy that would be within the technical grasp of most college choirs and advanced church choirs. The work is scored for S.A.T.B. chorus, chamber orchestra (strings, brass quintet, two percussionists) and organ. The organ is an integral part of the piece - it must be included in the orchestra, but contains many cued sections which can be omitted or played as desired, based on the strength of the ensemble. For maximum flexibility, the entire work can also be performed with only organ and chorus (with organ playing all cued sections). Functionality is also a large factor in the orchestration--the string parts often reinforce the organ, and are mostly conservative in range and difficulty. The brass quintet (a standard church ensemble) is utilized more heavily in the faster movements (two, four, and six), and the percussion is limited to timpani (3), crotales, suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, and tambourine. An important aspect of this work is the key relationships between tonal centers throughout the movements (and within one movement, in particular). Third relationships and parallel shifts between major and minor modes characterize this large-scale tonal motion: 1. Lord Have Mercy: C minor throughout; final chord is C major. 2. Glory to God in the Highest: C major introduction modulates to E-flat major for the main body of the hymn, then returns to C major for the conclusion. 3. What Shall I Render? G minor throughout (briefly moves to B-flat major). 4. Holy, Holy, Holy: D major primarily, parallel shift to D minor, travels through various key areas, then back to D major. Suddenly modulates to A-flat major for climactic conclusion. 5. Lamb of God: F minor throughout. Progression detailed below begins with B- flat minor, creating a sense of uncertainty between the two tonal centers. 6. Thank the Lord: Introduction in F major (parallel shift from movement five's F minor ending); quickly moves to C major, where it remains throughout. 7. Benediction: C minor - final chord is C major, like opening movement. Taken together, this large-scale progression constitutes the primary chord sequence of the fifth movement, where it is transposed down a whole step. Two ambiguities in the overall key scheme are notable: the second movement's opening and closing clearly utilize a tonal center of C major, making a sort of bookend for the work, with the minor-major ordering of the first two movements reversing itself in the final two. However, considering the main body of the second movement is in E-flat, it is also possible to hear the overall root motion of the first three movements as forming a C minor triad, which is the home key of the piece. Similarly, the principal key area of Holy, Holy, Holy is D major, but the movement ends in A-flat major after a sudden modulation by a tritone. Since the following movement, Lamb of God, is centered on F minor, the relationship between these movements can be heard either as a double chromatic mediant (D major to F minor) or a more common diatonic mediant (A-flat major to F minor). | |
