'Mass for Double Choir' by Claussen

Synopsis

From the first millennium of the Common Era to the present day, the Mass have been chanted and sung to music both simple and complex. Most Mass settings are in the original Latin, since that liturgical language, after so many centuries, has the advantage of being very familiar and eminently suitable for singing.

On today’s date in 2010, the Kansas City Chorale gave the premiere of a new Mass for Double Choir by American composer René Clausen.

Now, Clausen is an established and well-regarded composer of choral works, but even so writing a Mass can be a daunting task, and Clausen’s was his first such attempt.

“Let’s say it was a new challenge to set a text which has historically been set probably more than any other,” Clausen said. “I tend to be rather text-content driven, nearly always attempting to express the meaning and mood of the words. In the longer movements of the Mass, especially the Credo, it was challenging to express all the text, yet keep the music structurally integrated and proportioned.”

Clausen’s Mass for Double Choir was well-received at its American premiere, and subsequently recorded by the Kansas City Chorale for the British Chandos label. That recording won three Grammy Awards in 2013, including one for Best Choral Performance.

Music Played in Today's Program

Rene Clausen (b. 1953): Mass for Double Choir; Kansas City Chorale; Charles Bruffy, conductor; Chandos 5105