Missa Brevis [Luengen]

Conductor Notes:

Ramona Luengen’s Missa Brevis would be a good choice to introduce a choir to both the music of this fine Vancouver composer and to the mass form. Composed to be performed for the wedding of a friend, this SSAA a cappella work totals just 5:14 minutes in duration and has only three movements: Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Ranges are more moderate and the harmonic language more straightforward than her earlier Salve Regina . Nevertheless, the Missa Brevis is well-crafted and offers many opportunities to explore issues of word stress (always carefully set by Luengen), uncomplicated mixed meters and expressive singing. The Agnus Dei, with its frequent triplets sailing over even eighth-notes in other parts, is especially effective. Note that the audio file here is just the Agnus Dei. The whole mass is published on the “Legacy” CD by the Canadian Music Centre and available on iTunes.