Missa Brevis (The “Brass Mass”)
(For SSAATTBB Chorus and Brass Quintet)
by
Dan Locklair
The impetus for Missa Brevis (The “Brass Mass”) came in 1985 when the Catskill Choral Society of Oneonta, New York (Dr. Thurston J. Dox, Director) commissioned a Sanctus from me for their February 1986 MENC appearance in Boston (with the Catskill Brass Quintet). Later, in 1986, the Society offered another commission to me to complete the Ordinary of the Mass for choir and brass quintet. Work was begun on it during the late autumn of 1986 and Missa Brevis (The “Brass Mass”) was completed in the winter of 1987. It received its World Premiere on 14 November 1987 by the Catskill Choral Society and Catskills Brass Quintet in the First United Methodist Church of Oneonta, New York.
The work is in Latin. It is scored for SATB chorus (which, at times, divides SSAATTBB) and brass quintet (two trumpets in C, French horn in F, trombone and tuba). Optional finger cymbal parts are also written and these, along with the spatial nature of the piece, are designed to further heighten the drama of one of the greatest librettos ever created.
The duration of Missa Brevis (The “Brass Mass”) is about thirty-three minutes.
Performance notes appear in the score, which is published by Subito.
Dan Locklair
Winston-Salem, North Carolina