The Politicized Concert Mass (1967-2007)

Since the transformative 1960s, concert masses have incorporated a range of political and religious views that mirror their socio-cultural context.

Stephanie Rocke is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne with an ongoing interest in religious and cultural diversity as it is manifested in musical forms and musical activities across time. Recent publications reflect an expansion into the fields of music and emotion, the history of emotion, Australian music and creativity for wellbeing. The Origins and Ascendancy of the Concert Mass was published by Routledge in 2020.

Introduction The concert mass Concert mass background Conceptual framework and theoretical approaches Secularization Issues of transcendence Religious universalism and pluralism Relativism Cosmopolitan pluralists Book structure and chapter outlines Part I: Challenging boundaries in the long 1960s Introduction Civil protest Roman Catholic Activism Part I Case Studies - Introducing the masses of Axelrod, Davies and Bernstein Chapter 1: David Axelrod and the Electric Prunes' psychedelic Mass in F Minor (1967) Cultural context - the popular music industry Mass in F Minor (1967) - The Electric Prunes & David Axelrod (1931-2017) David Axelrod - a creative autodidact Placing Mass in F Minor within the continuum of other masses An absence of religion (secularization) Psychedelic Elements of Mass in F Minor Text Reception Psychedelia and the counter culture Commodification - Mass in F minor as a product Mass in F minor legacy Chapter 2: Challenging Christianity: Provocative models in Peter Maxwell Davies's and Leonard Bernstein's theatrical concert masses Missa super l'homme armé (1971) and Mass (1971) Cultural context - a thirst for change Secularization in different spheres Missa super l'homme armé (1969 rev. 1971) - Peter Maxwell Davies Absurdity Sacrifice, betrayal and Christianity Mass (1971) - Leonard Bernstein Faith Social consciousness Detractors Part II: Expanding the concert mass into new territories Introduction Subversive protests Part II case studies - Chihara and Fanshawe: similarities and differences Chapter 3: Christianity as everyday practice: Paul Chihara's Missa Carminum: Folk Song Mass (1975) Background and genesis Missa Carminum: Folk Song Mass (1975) Text juxtapositions Melodic juxtapositions Gloria Eros in the music of Missa Carminum Chapter 4: David Fanshawe's African Sanctus: A Mass for Love and Peace (1973) Cultural and religious merging Neo-colonial cosmopolitan patriot Cultural and religious hybridity Christian and Muslim perspectives Transcultural flows Conclusion to Part II Part III: God meets Gaia: Concert masses for the environment Introduction Environmental Movement New Spiritual Pathways Christianity and Environmentalism Lindisfarne Association Part III case studies - towards natural religion: environmental concert masses of Winter, Patterson, Lentz and Larsen Chapter 5: Paul Winter's Missa Gaia / Earth Mass (1981) and Paul Patterson's Mass of the Sea (1983) Introduction Paul Winter's Missa Gaia / Earth Mass (1981) "Earth Fair" A concert mass Gaia & God? Paul Patterson's Mass of the Sea Chapter 6: David Lentz and Jessica Karraker's wolfMASS (1987) and Libby Larsen's Missa Gaia: Mass for the Earth (1992) Introduction wolfMASS (1987) - Daniel Lentz and Jessica Karraker Music Libretto Missa Gaia: Mass for the Earth (1992) - Libby Larsen Music for mother Earth Libretto - replacement texts and musical choices Credo: Speak to the Earth and It Shall Teach Thee God? Conclusion to Part III - Christianity as religious symbol Part IV: Reflecting Religious Diversity Introduction Historical antecedents Concert Masses Religious plurality Theoretical concepts Tolerance Moral education David Fanshawe - African Sanctus: A Mass For Love And Peace (1973) (Reprise) Exclusivism, inclusivism Relativism Concert Mass responses to plurality - universalism and pluralism Chapter 7: Universalistic approaches: Roger Davidson's Missa Universalis I, II and III (1987-1992) and Luis Bacalov's Misa Tango (1997) Introduction Universalism Roger Davidson: Missa Universalis I, II and III (1987-1992) Nuancing Universalism Luis Bacalov's Misa Tango (1997) Tango and Religion Lamb of God Chapter 8: Towards Pluralism: Carman Moore's Mass for the 21st Century (1994-1995) Introduction Abandoning universalism Inclusive pluralism Carman Moore's Mass for the 21st Century (1994-1995) Universalism and pluralism Chapter 9: Pluralism in two twenty-first-century concert masses: Karl Jenkins's The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace (2000) and And on Earth Peace: A Chanticleer Mass (2007) Introduction The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace (2000) Moving emotions through music Choral and commercial success Pluralistic aspects And on Earth, Peace: A Chanticleer Mass (2007) Pluralism and universlism Spirituality Conclusion to Part IV Conclusion: From secularism to pluralism in forty years of politicized concert masses Index Concert Mass Index