St. Cecilia Mass

The first work by Gounod performed in public was on 1 May 1841 a mass at the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.^[1] The St. Cecilia Mass was his first major work. Parts of it, the Sanctus and Benedictus, were performed in London on 13 January 1851, together with works such as Mendelssohn's Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Gounod's new music was acclaimed in the press, rendering details and culminating in an enthusiastic summary: "It is ... the work of a thoroughly trained artist – and what is more, the poetry of a new poet". The review was published in Paris and raised expectations. The premiere was performed on St. Cecilia's day, 22 November 1855, in Saint-Eustache, Paris, where it was customary to celebrate the day by the performance of a new mass. The conductor was Théophile Tilmant.^[2]

The Order of Mass is slightly extended. In the Gloria, the prayer miserere nobis (have mercy on us) is intensified by an added Domine Jesu (Lord Jesus). The mass has an instrumental offertory. In the Agnus Dei, the soloists sing between the three invocations the text "Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea" (Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say a word and I shall be healed), sung once by the tenor and again by the soprano. The movement ends with an added Amen. The piece concludes with the text, "Domine, salvum fac Imperatorem nostrum Napoleonum, et exaudi nos in die qua invocaverimus te" (Lord, bless our Emperor Napoleon and hear our prayer this day that we call you), sung once as Prière de l'Eglise (prayer of the church) by the choir a cappella after a short instrumental introduction, the second time as Prière de l'Armée (prayer of the army) by the tenors, basses, and brass, and the third time as Prière de la Nation (prayer of the nation) by the choir with orchestra. The changes have been criticized as not liturgically strict.^[3]

The vocal parts of the mass are performed by three soloists (soprano, tenor and bass) and a choir of four parts, sometimes with divided tenor and bass. The soloists act mostly as an ensemble, without arias. Gounod scored the mass for a large orchestra, demanding six harps. In Gloria and Sanctus, he highlighted passages by pistons (cornets),^[4] typical instruments of the romantic French orchestra. In Benedictus and Agnus Dei, he was the first composer to use the newly developed octobass, a string instrument of the violone family. He included the great organ, mostly in Grand jeu.

In the following table of the movements, the markings, keys and time signatures are taken from the choral score, using the symbol for alla breve (2/2).^[5][6]

No.	Parte	Incipit	Vocal	Marking	Tono	Tempo
I	Kyrie		STBSATB	Moderato, quasi Andantino	G major
II	Gloria	Gloria in excelsis Deo	SSATB	Larghetto	D major
		Et in terra pax	STBSATB	Allegro pomposo
		Domine Fili unigenite		Andante	G major
		Quoniam tu solus sanctus		Allegro, tempo I	D major
III	Credo	Credo in unum Deum	SATB	Moderato molto maestoso	C major
		Et incarnatus est	SABSATB	Adagio
		Crucifixus			G minor
		Et resurrexit	SATTBB	Tempo primo	C major
	Offertory			Adagio molto	A♭ major
IV	Sanctus		TSATTBB	Andante	F major	9 8
V	Benedictus		SSATTBB	Adagio	B-flat major
VI	Agnus Dei	Agnus Dei	SATB	Andante moderato	D major	12 8
		Domine, non sunt dignus	T
		Agnus Dei	SATB
		Domine, non sunt dignus	S
		Agnus Dei	SATTB
VII	Domine salvum fac	Prière de l'Eglise	SATTB	Largo	G major
		Prière de l'Armée	TB	Un peu anima. et très un menuré.
		Prière de la Nation	SATB	Slower

Camille Saint-Saens commented after the premiere:

"The appearance of the Messe Saint-Cécile caused a kind of shock. This simplicity, this grandeur, this serene light which rose before the musical world like a breaking dawn, troubled people enormously. … at first one was dazzled, then charmed, then conquered."^[6]

He ranked the mass among the best works by Gounod:

"In the faint distant future when inexorable time has completed its work and the operas of Gounod are forever in repose in the dusty sanctuary of libraries, the Messe de Sainte Cécile, the Rédemption and the oratorio Mors et Vita will still retain life."^[6]

The Sanctus was used in Werner Herzog's film Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979).

• Igor Markevitch, Irmgard Seefried, Gerhard Stolze, Hermann Uhde, Tschechischer Sängerchor Prag – Tschechische Philharmonie, recorded in Prague, 1965
• Jean-Claude Hartemann, Pilar Lorengar, Heinz Hoppe, Franz Crass, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, recorded in St. Roch before 1963
• Mariss Jansons, Luba Orgonášová, Christian Elsner, Gustáv Beláček, Bavarian Radio Chorus and Radio Symphony Orchestra, recorded live at Herkulessaal, Munich, in 2007

• Messe solennelle de Sainte-Cécile: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Free scores of St. Cecilia Mass in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)

• Max Derrickson: Gounod – Messe solennelle de Sainte Cécile musicprogramnotes.com