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from an old friend: Setting the Ordinary of the Mass General Overview The prayers and chants of the Mass fall in two basic categories, the Ordinary and the Proper. The Ordinary prayers and chants are those which do not change from one service to another, while those of the Proper change constantly and are specific to certain Sundays, feasts, seasons, days of the year, and special occasions. When one speaks of writing a Mass, one almost invariably means a setting of the major prayers of the Ordinary: The Kyrie (Lord have mercy), the Gloria (Glory to God in the highest), the Credo (We believe in one God), the Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy), and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). The Texts – in English Kyrie: Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy Gloria: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father; Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us: you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Credo: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; By the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; with the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified; he has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. Sanctus: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Agnus Dei: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Grant us peace. General Setting Guidelines Kyrie: The mood of the Kyrie is penitential. Most settings nowadays are simple and subdued. Formerly, this was often downplayed (Mozart’s short masses), and sometimes a little drama is added to underscore the penitential quality (my Missa Brevis). For congregational use nowadays, each line is usually sung by the cantor or choir first, then repeated by the congregation. Gloria: The Gloria follows the Kyrie immediately. It is a prayer of joy glorifying God, and as such it is omitted from the Mass during Advent and Lent. Nowadays it is often set for congregational use with a catchy tune on the opening words “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.” The choir or cantor will sing this tune once, then the congregation will answer. Then the cantor or choir will continue with the prayer for a while on different material. After a few lines, when it seems appropriate, the music returns to the original tune, and everyone knows to sing “Glory to God…” again. Again the choir or cantor picks up where they left off with new material, and after a while, the “Glory to God…” comes back again. This pattern continues to the end, when one last “Glory to God…” repetition occurs, then the choir finishes with Amen. This gives the congregation plenty of participation, without having to follow a long, complex setting of the entire text. There is usually a change in mood toward the middle, at “Lord Jesus Christ, only son of the father…” and/or “you take away the sins of the world; have mercy on us,” because the mood becomes penitential. By the time the text “for you alone are the holy one…” comes up, the mood is jubilant again. Credo: The Credo is almost never set anymore. It is reserved for the congregation to recite in its entirety. Sanctus: The Sanctus is the mystical song of the angels in heaven, and provides the most variety of possible moods and settings. It is sometimes set jubilantly (most classical Masses), sometimes mysteriously (Durufle and Faure both do this to an extent in their Requiem Masses). The “Hosanna in the highest” is almost always set boisterously. At “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” the mood sometimes becomes more subdued, and formerly this section was a separate movement, but even here the Hosanna is usually joyful. Nowadays, settings of the Sanctus are kept short. Agnus Dei: Because it comes right before communion, nowadays the Agnus Dei is also kept short and simple, usually subdued. The first two lines are usually set similarly, if not identically. The third line often begins the same, but the mood changes at “grant us peace,” often with a pleading or dramatic quality…because peace on earth is far from a reality. * * * I hope this gives you some idea of how to proceed with your project. From here, it’s up to you. Listen to some Masses if you get a chance to get a historical basis, and pay attention to the way the music for the Ordinary of the Mass is presented when you go to church, providing there is music at that Mass. That’ll give you insight into how Masses are set now. Best of luck, and may God guide your endeavour. --Lee

Fortunately or unfortunately, it's so difficult to make a career as a composer, most people who make it writing atonal stuff have probably paid their dues and could write you a piece in a variety of historic styles if you asked them too. They had to make it into music school with a body of work made, usually, without a lot of adult supervision, they had to pass all the counterpoint and harmony courses in music school, after graduation they had to impress some people the quality of their work early on to get a career going. The chances of someone popping out of the woodwork with no knowledge of tonal theory ever being heard among the clamoring masses of excellent music major graduates is pretty slim. (She sheds a tear for her lack of early music education, and goes back to reviewing her theory book.) I spend most of my time in the visual arts world, and there are a LOT of people out there who only do "abstract" work, because they can't actually draw. But their work isn't very good, and their mothers' are usually the only people who appreciate it. They may have some interesting ideas, but not the skills to back them up. They usually don't have the dedication to get a career going, although they talk about their dream of a career as an artist a lot. (If they are that interested in art, and couldn't be bothered to really learn to draw, that points to a lack of dedication as a part of the problem, don't you think?) On the other hand, I know plenty of more classically trained artists who have made careers for themselves in the abstract/non-representation/modern art world. They made interesting, thought-provoking work, which is also beautifully crafted. They can talk to you intelligently about the choices that they have made in any particular piece. Once you know your alphabet, you can write any words you want.

Off topic: but it's funny how important a name for a piece of music is, especially for young people. An instant stigma is placed on music with out a name. I guess music becomes too abstract for some at that point. "Concerto Grosso in Bb Major" in itself isn't even a name for a work but simply what the work is. I'd like to mention that I could write a kick-butt Concerto Grosso in Bb Major btw ;)

Why is this still a topic of debate? Atonal music is literally almost 100 years old. In the professional music world this debate is pretty much only kept alive by jaded composers who feel slated somehow by the pluralistic society of styles that makes up the modern new music world. Additionally, to say atonal music is easy hasn't really taken the time to understand music of the 20th century. It is an uneducated observation and statement to claim that writing non-tonal music is as easy as letting your cat walk across the piano keys.

If you are familiar with composers such as Lutoslawski, Duttileux, Berg, Tüür you will know that atonality can sound very gentle and pleasant.

Maybe we should have a poll for those who write tonal music? Poll: Those who write tonal music do so because they are copping out, lack imagination, and can only do style copies? Yes of course you silly bird. Would you like to join me in selling those tonalists quill pens, lead mascara, and powdered wigs! Ah only a few can truly get away with writing good tonal music since much of the possibilities of tonal music have been exhausted! Of course not, there are all sorts of tonality - pick one shall we? Indian ragas? Arabic maquams? Western major/minor scale - or octatonic as Schubert was the first to use it. Ah, I write twelve tone music a la Mozart and can wrestle late Romantic harmony into the strictest counterpoint a la Bach - I am awesome, none shall threaten me. Not applicable, I work with spatial music, sound design, and resonating the universe's aura, tonality is just one consequence of my music that meets the needs of ALL seeking enlightenment!

Mmmm, it isn't all about copy/paste...And, even still, Ken, a single note can be played many different ways, some instruments more than others - for great levels of expression and variety. I would not discount 'formulaic' minimalism, whereby the formula necessitates the music, and while 'sounding repetitive', it is on a long journey, slowly changing before your ears...It is all well and good to seek out their techniques, but I would advise you to think about it for yourself. Come up with your own 'minimalistic' ideas. These can be based on any aspect of the music, which will disregard the others, while it is in it's process of unfolding. Good luck, and please share any resources you may find =)