ABOUT MASS OF THE SERAPHIM
Above [the Lord] were seraphim, each with six wings:
with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Isaiah 6:2–3
The above passage from Isaiah was one of my main sources of inspiration when composing the Mass of the Seraphim. I wanted to write a Mass setting which clearly expressed the sense of awe and exultation conveyed in Isaiah’s vision, especially in the Gloria and Sanctus. I started writing the Agnus Dei in December 2011 and finished sketches of the Memorial Acclamations around Easter 2012. Mass of the Seraphim is dedicated to the Sisters of Providence, notably the Sisters of Holy Angels Province in Edmonton, in thanks for their support over the years for myself and my family, as well as for their initial readings of the choir parts.
In addition to suiting the text, the range, phrasing, and rhythmic complexity of the melodies were chosen to be suitable for congregational singing. While deferring to the prosody of the text, the melodies were crafted to be very singable, possessing a natural flow and eschewing awkward rhythms. For the congregation (melody) part, the setting ranges from A3 to D5, within the normal range of songs in typical hymnals. The instrumental introductions to each Mass part were also written with the congregation in mind: they are distinctive and clear, heralding the characteristic thematic material of the ensuing song, and lead unambiguously into the sung melodies they introduce.
Throughout my life, the Mass settings that I have most enjoyed singing are those which, in addition to being memorable and interesting, have naturally and successfully fostered congregation participation. My intent in writing Mass of the Seraphim was to strive for these same goals.
1 Pope Pius X, Tra le Sollecitudini, Motu Proprio on Sacred Music, §I.1 (November 22, 1903)↩
2 Psalm 30:11↩
3 Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy – Second Vatican Council (1963), §116↩
4 Richard Taruskin, The Oxford History of Western Music, Vol. I (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 79↩
5 “Composition of New Mass Settings: Some Background and Guidelines”, National Liturgical Music Board, Music Advisory Board to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (2009)↩
6 Musicam Sacram, Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, Sacred Congregation of Rites, March 5, 1967↩
Suiting the Music to the Text
When crafting both the melodies and accompaniments for each Mass part, the text was foremost in my mind: meditation on the ordinary texts and their biblical sources provided the fundamental inspiration for the music. By employing tone-painting techniques—that is, writing the music to reflect the meaning of the text—throughout Mass of the Seraphim, I have attempted to fulfill the prescription given by Pope Pius X regarding liturgical music, namely thatsince its principal office is to clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the understanding of the faithful, its proper aim is to add greater efficacy to the text, in order that through it the faithful may be the more easily moved to devotion and better disposed for the reception of the fruits of grace belonging to the celebration of the most holy mysteries.1For example, in the accompaniment to the Kyrie, I use a descending figure in the inner voices to symbolise the weight of sin. Furthermore, the three musical phrases used for the three Kyrie–Christe–Kyrie invocations are used in the Gloria (cf. mm. 2–3, 21–23, and 38–40), albeit in a joyful setting for the latter, representing the transformation of our mourning to dancing as we turn from contemplation of our sins to the praise of God2; thematically tying together the Kyrie and the Gloria in this way also serves to unify the two parts of the setting sung during the Liturgy of the Word. Another notable example of tone painting occurs at the very end of the Agnus Dei: as the congregation intones “grant us peace”, the harmonic texture in the accompaniment thins and the tempo slows, evoking—more than the words alone could do—the spirit of the text. In the Sanctus, I use a motif of ascending leaps (fourths and fifths) to represent the sending up of our praises to God, particularly in the repetitions of “Hosanna in the highest”; the high in “highest” also coincides with the highest pitch (C5) sung in the Sanctus. The Sanctus, Memorial Acclamations, and Amen draw upon the same thematic material, to emphasise the continuity of the Eucharistic Prayer.
Evoking Plainchant
In writing Mass of the Seraphim, I have also aimed to respect the “place of pride” that Gregorian chant has in the Roman Liturgy3. While the melodies do not directly have their origin in plainchant, there is extensive use of a lowered seventh scale degree (subtonic), as opposed to the raised seventh scale degree (leading tone) more typical of diatonic music. Known as the subtonium modi, this lower neighbour to the tonic is a prominent feature of chant melodies, especially those in the Dorian mode4. As such, its presence (e.g., Gloria, mm. 36 & 38; Memorial Acclamation 1, mm. 5–6; Mem. Acc. 2, mm. 3 & 6; Mem. Acc. 3, m. 6; Agnus Dei, mm. 5, 6, 8, 13, 21, & 22) provides a subtle evocation of the great tradition of plainchant in the liturgy.Participation of the Faithful
An important corollary to maintaining the “proper aim” of liturgical music—that is, as a vehicle for the text—is that the music does not exist simply for its own sake. As such, throughout Mass of the Seraphim, the music is of sufficient length to declaim the liturgical texts without unduly lengthening them. A through-composed setting of the Gloria was chosen (rather than one incorporating a refrain) specifically for this purpose, “reflecting the free-form structure of the hymn”5. Especially as congregations are now better acquainted with the new ICEL translation, such a through-composed setting should not in any way inhibit the “active participation of the faithful” which is a paramount goal for any liturgical music6.In addition to suiting the text, the range, phrasing, and rhythmic complexity of the melodies were chosen to be suitable for congregational singing. While deferring to the prosody of the text, the melodies were crafted to be very singable, possessing a natural flow and eschewing awkward rhythms. For the congregation (melody) part, the setting ranges from A3 to D5, within the normal range of songs in typical hymnals. The instrumental introductions to each Mass part were also written with the congregation in mind: they are distinctive and clear, heralding the characteristic thematic material of the ensuing song, and lead unambiguously into the sung melodies they introduce.
Throughout my life, the Mass settings that I have most enjoyed singing are those which, in addition to being memorable and interesting, have naturally and successfully fostered congregation participation. My intent in writing Mass of the Seraphim was to strive for these same goals.
REFERENCES
1 Pope Pius X, Tra le Sollecitudini, Motu Proprio on Sacred Music, §I.1 (November 22, 1903)↩
2 Psalm 30:11↩
3 Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy – Second Vatican Council (1963), §116↩
4 Richard Taruskin, The Oxford History of Western Music, Vol. I (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 79↩
5 “Composition of New Mass Settings: Some Background and Guidelines”, National Liturgical Music Board, Music Advisory Board to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (2009)↩
6 Musicam Sacram, Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, Sacred Congregation of Rites, March 5, 1967↩
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Aaron Hryciw (pronounced “REE-shoo”) is a composer, violinist, and physicist living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He studied composition privately with Malcolm Forsyth, and has written and arranged extensively for string quartet and other chamber ensembles. Highlights include From Water to Ice (2005), for string quartet, commissioned by the Canadian Association of Physicists for the 2005 World Year of Physics, and Trigon–Concertino for C Trumpet, String Quartet, and Piano (2007), written under an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Music Project Grant. Aaron is a founding member of Vif String Quartet, and received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Alberta. He attends Mass at St. Joseph's College Chapel at the University of Alberta with his wife and children.
Aaron's earliest musical experiences include listening to his mother's piano students surreptitiously through the heat register, hearing his father play violin during myriad Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performances, and crawling around the organ pedals as his mother played music for Mass.
Aaron's earliest musical experiences include listening to his mother's piano students surreptitiously through the heat register, hearing his father play violin during myriad Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performances, and crawling around the organ pedals as his mother played music for Mass.
