THE MUSIC

Superlatives abound when describing this music. It can also be majestic, heroic, contemplative, devotional, ethereal, profound and of course it is deeply religious. To assume that it was separate from the secular world would, however, be quite wrong. The myriad of inter textual and symbolic relationships so amply displayed and oftentimes embedded in the repertoire is testament to its temporal and spiritual nexus; and it can be noted, of course, that many settings draw their model from the secular domain. It is music that in its own time was avant-garde and was a platform for the exhibition of compositional mastery, ingenuity and the exploration of ideas, harmonic, melodic and contrapuntal. For me, its examination of what is seemingly the infinite possibilities of setting an essentially standard text is a compelling stimulus in my endless fascination for this repertoire. Indeed, this music attracts attention and holds one spellbound by its unique power.

The music presented on this Site is complex and may require several listenings before giving up its secrets. We should be mindful, however, that listening to these works as "concert pieces" is outside of the contextual parameters in which the music was performed. Even so, I hope you enjoy the music as both a visual and aural experience. If you would like to contact me about any of this, please feel free to do so.

HOW THIS SITE WORKS:

Go To: COMPOSERS and select name.

The COMPOSERS list is the actual index to the Site. Each of the listed composers has his own page which contains his works available on the Site. Information on the Source from which the edition has been taken is also provided.

To Look: click on - a new window will open ("the pdf screen"), adjust pages to your viewing preferences and scroll through.

To Listen: click on and adjust settings to your listening preferences. Note that these may need to be changed according to the nature of each mass and your multimedia player. You may find that listening through external speakers with head phones is the best option. In cases where your machine's program requires that you download the file before playing, creating a folder in which to store the soundfiles might be useful.

To Look and Listen: 1st - click on and make page adjustments then minimize screen; 2nd - click on and adjust settings to your preferences; 3rd - maximize the "pdf screen" and scroll through with the audio input.

LINKS

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