Igor Stravinsky – Mass

This chapter begins with a survey of the vast amount of European choral music Stravinsky was exposed to in his youth and his fascination with the sounds of language in the Russian Orthodox Church. This is followed by a survey of the many modern-era Masses based on historic models as well as a survey of the many Stravinsky compositions so based. The music of the Mass is discussed in terms of its neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance attributes and its mirror formal structures. Performance practice issues address the cubist-like setting of text and its close relationship to the text setting of Francis Poulenc, and Stravinsky’s unique motor-like rhythmic textures.