Music as Worship.

The two Masses that I have picked to examine further are Missa Caput by Johannes Ockeghem and Missa Dunelmi by James MacMillan. In the first Mass by Ockeghem, there is a different theological understanding of worship through the connection between good and evil. In these pieces of music, the main theme is the defeat of Satan which comes in the image of a dragon. This Mass is directly linked to the drama of Satan being defeated and God is our Savior and protector. In this Mass, the Eucharist is defeating the evil and destroying the Caput, which means Satan.

When looking specifically at the piece Sanctus in this Mass, the main takeaway is for us, humans, to remember that every time we celebrate the Eucharist we are defeating the evil, death, chaos, and disorder inside of us and turning our hearts toward the eternal love of Christ made present in the bread and wine. Personally, when I first heard this Mass on the Spotify playlist I was drawn towards the obscurities that Professor O’Malley talked about in lecture. This Mass was very different from the other ones on the playlist. I feel as if it has more of a darker and serious tone that lacked in harmony. According to Robertson, this peculiarity comes from the fact that the tenors descended in the piece. He writes, “the tenor has in some ways impeded, rather than assisted…” (544). The tenor is a symbol for the head of the dragon which is slowly killed by Christ as we can hear the tenor getting less and less dramatic in the piece. After listening to the entire mass, I contemplated and realized that a person can truly be humble and understanding of the everlasting love that Christ has for us and truly view him as our protector from evil. Also, I noticed that the melody had more of a chant tone which made it rhythmically enhanced. There are three different voice ranges with their goal being to harmonically support the chant melody.

In the second Mass by MacMillan, there is a specific interest in the sacrificial aspect of the pieces. The main theme that I have noticed in these musical pieces is the tension and conflict that get resolved. To me, MacMillan creates this drama aspect to the music by rushing the tempo, incorporating louder and more vocals, and moving very quickly in time measures. This is present in the Gloria piece after the first fifty-eight seconds when the male vocals are added to enhance the singing. In the Gloria piece, there is also the chant-like melody that provides a basis for the balance of the entire song. Also, there is a lot of repetition in his pieces, and just when you think you know the pattern he does something to change it. This in turn also creates tension in the piece. The Sanctus and Benedictus create tension with their loud vocals and disruption of pattern. There is a release of this tension when the vocals become softer. We see this release at around one minute and twenty seconds into the Sanctus piece when there is a fade away into a quiet pause. Also, the song that concludes this Missa, the Agnus Dei, is a very slow-paced and reflective piece that brings this release of tension and allows the listener to contemplate their own life. This shows a different theological understanding of worship as it allows the listener to contemplate their own lives and enter a deeper relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ. This Mass is a material art form of sound that enables us, humans, to understand our own time and God’s time. For me when I listened to this piece the tension represented my sin and times in my life when I have faulted against God. However, the release of this tension and the calmness that came from the music, especially towards the end, showed me that God always forgives and loves me no matter what I do as he suffered and died for me. For me, there was a Eucharistic dimension to these pieces as when I listened, I was encompassed in the love of God and pictured myself in church celebrating His arrival on the altar.

If we look at the music of these two pieces as a map or guideline to our worship we can clearly see their role in enhancing our religious experience and relationship with God. For me personally, I came out of this week with a different perspective on music and a deeper love for my Father.