Masses

CAMRA was not a religious organisation and welcomed people of all faiths and none. Yet, sacred music is an important part of the choral repertoire. Through its friendship with St Philip's Anglican Church, CAMRA enjoyed singing fine music as part of living church worship.

This readfiles choral masses on special occasions such as Easter and the festivals of All Soul's and All Saints. In recent years we have sung Haydn's Little Organ Mass and Nicolai Mass, Mozart's Mass in F and, in 2007, Schubert's Mass no. 2 in G.

Musical settings of the Mass, Eucharist or Holy Communion are usually from the 'Ordinary of the Mass', the part of the Eucharist that is always sung or recited. These words are used in both the Roman Catholic Mass and in Anglican Holy Communion Services. A mass setting commonly has six sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Benedictus, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, each in Latin.

Kyrie eleison ...	Lord, have mercy on us ...
Gloria in excelsis Deo ...	Glory to God in the highest ...
Credo in unum Deum ...	I believe in one God ...
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini ...	Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord ...
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth ...	Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts ...
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Miserere nobis.	Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Franz Schubert. Mass no. 2 in G (D.167)

Sung for the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, 4 November 2007, with soloists Alison Knight (Soprano), Daniel McMillan (Tenor), Peter Laurence (Bass) and a string orchestra — directed by Colin Forbes

The Mass no. 2 in G major, D.167, is the shortest and most simply scored of Schubert's seven masses. It was written in just five days, 2-7 March, 1815, for Schubert's home parish church of Lichenthal. In this mass, Schubert shows his interest in the overall devotional mood of a religious composition, rather than individualistic romantic expression of the texts.

Though deeply religious, Schubert was not an orthodox Roman Catholic. His personal piety had its roots in Josephism, a liberal religious attitude prevalent under Emperor Joseph II. Thus he omitted from the Credo the words Credo in unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam ("I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church").