We Are Called
Spiritual music is a special type of worship, in that it is an “invisible” art that relies strictly on our sense of hearing. Jeremy Begbie believes that music enables us to participate in life more deeply during the time we have on this earth. Rather than escaping life by a type of transcendent experience, through music we can actually enjoy time “redeemed” to us by God through Christ. Music is part of our lives as one of God’s creations, and it is distinctive in its many uses, but very special in its use during the Mass. Each Mass conveys the Eucharistic liturgy in a unique style, meant to guide the audience as it prepares us to receive the body and blood of the Lamb.
The Missa De Sanctis by the Dominican Liturgical Center and the Missa Caput by Johannes Ockeghem are two very different styles of music. The Missa De Sanctis’ is short and sweet, without much variation in its hushed veneration, but with short intertwining tensions and releases, complete silence in its pauses, and always ends with a sweet unison. The Missa Caput pieces are much longer by comparison, and have a unique element known as the “raw voice,” which can be heard from low sighs to haunting cries. Furthermore, the bass voices add long, sustained notes, so there are actually very few moments of silence in the pieces. Both Masses have the same formula of songs (for the most part, as De Sanctis does not have a Gloria or a Credo), but each convey different versions of the same story.
During the Mass, the Sanctus/Benedictus revolves around the preparing and receiving of the Eucharist. In the Missa De Sanctis version, “Holy, Holy” is a gentle piece, and emphasizes only the “Hosanna,” by drawing it out slightly longer than the other lyrics. The rhythm and meter are the same, and the repetition allows the audience to join in, as well as remember it long after the Mass has ended, eliciting memory. The music helps the audience experience what is actually happening, placing them at the unfolding performance. It bestows upon the audience an image of what is truly meant to be beyond the music, that Christ is sacrificing himself for our salvation. The end of the piece, with its final note of liberating harmonic unison, implies a coming to terms with our newfound lives. It calls us back to be disciples of God and lead good Christian lives for ourselves and for others.
The Missa Caput is a unique type of Mass and has a peculiar history behind it, one bound to ancient lore and doctrines about Jesus, Mary, and the saints all being “dragon killers” as they conquer Satan. The Caput masses are linked to this drama in which Satan is defeated. In fact, during the Benedictus, a dragon appears in the church and is destroyed in front of the entire congregation. This fight is symbolically represented in the music. In the Sanctus/Benedictus, there are intentionally tense “harmonies’’ in which the tenor line is constantly descending. The tenor line in the sheet music is labeled as the “caput draconis,” meaning the “head of the dragon,” which is slowly destroyed by the Sanctus through the movement of the pieces. The Sanctus is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist that comes to destroy the dragon. The music carries the audience along up to this moment of destruction, and it offers no release of tension until the final note rings out in blissful freedom, which is how the audience feels after being saved (from original sin through Jesus’ sacrifice). It also calls us, like the Missa De Sanctis, back to our lives of discipleship, but it begs the question how do we defeat the dragon ourselves? Or are there, perhaps, “lesser dragons” we have to face in our everyday lives?
