Music for Fourth Sunday of Easter

 

Messe ‘Cum jubilo’ (Op. 11) – Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)

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Duruflé’s Mass ‘with rejoicing’, as it is subtitled in Gregorian chant anthologies, is based upon the first of several plainchant settings used in Masses for feast days celebrating aspects in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. While the vocal line takes its cue from the actual plainchant melody and its constantly shifting metre, Duruflé’s modern setting embraces a much broader tonal spectrum than the original medieval modal scales. The connection between Mary and the month of May can be traced back to ancient times. This setting of the Mass ordinary is offered this Sunday in church in her honour.

In Duruflé’s setting the choral ensemble is streamlined to very simple dimensions: a unison ensemble of tenor and bass voices, with a baritone soloist featured in various sections of the work. In that solo/choral arrangement, it simulates the monastic practice of alternately singing phrases or verses of Gregorian chant antiphonally in two groups, or responsorially by a cantor alternating with a larger chorus.

Like Duruflé’s better-known Requiem, the instrumental accompaniment was originally composed for orchestra and organ, with subsequent arrangements calling for a smaller instrumental ensemble and organ, or organ alone as it is heard in this performance. The general simplicity of the musical texture and the economy of forces make the Mass ‘Cum Jubilo’ an ideal piece of liturgical service music, available for wide use by choirs of varying sizes.

Gerald Harder