SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2025 2:30 PM
Jazz Mass Benjamin Stalder
Kyrie eleison (b. 2002)
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Credo in unum Deum
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Ite Missa est
Benjamin Stalder, piano
John D’Addario, bass
Cameron Peterson, drums
Maddie Hitching, vocals
Ryan ompson, vocals
Composers have set the sacred text of the Roman Catholic liturgy to music for centuries. e music has been composed in many different styles, from Gregorian chant to sacred polyphony to large and lengthy symphonic settings. With the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the late 1960s, composers have adapted the Latin text to other contemporary styles of music. Inspired by the work of Pittsburgh jazz composers Joe Negri and Mary Lou Williams, I wanted to set these texts to various styles of jazz.
I wrote my “Jazz Mass” to be performed as a concert piece, but my six-movement work will feature the entire text of the Latin Mass Ordinary, namely the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and the oen-omitted Ite Missa Est. e composition features a different style of jazz for each movement, listed below.
e Kyrie is set to a traditional twelve-bar blues progression. e twelve-bar blues is a repetition of the i⁷, iv⁷, and V⁷ chords of the scale in a particular pattern. e blues originated in the late 1800s in the United States but grew in popularity at the turn of the 20th century. e mournful but insistent nature of the blues was a perfect choice of style to ft this text.
It could be considered unusual that a liturgy begins with a plea for mercy as the frst Ordinary musical element, but this placement is intentional in Catholic Mass to seek God’s mercy from the very beginning of the liturgy. e insistent plea for mercy is most musically notable in the shiing of the rhythm in the last line to accent this phrase. Interestingly, while most of the text in this Mass is from the Latin language, Kyrie is the only retained Ordinary text from the Ancient Greek language.
Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
e Gloria takes its musical cues from the Brazilian bossa nova and Latin “clave” rhythms. In the liturgy, the Gloria immediately follows the Kyrie and functions as a piece of rejoicing, now that the congregation has acknowledged their sins before God and themselves. e text includes a listing of praises to God the Father through Jesus Christ, hearkening back to the words of the shepherds in Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s birth: “Gloria in excelsis Deo!”.
For such a jubilant text, I selected a mix of bossa nova and clave rhythms because of the joy and jubilation I oen feel when playing in these styles. e Gloria is not sung on Sundays during the current penitential season of Lent, even omitted on today’s Laetare Sunday (“Rejoice” Sunday), but it is part of the Latin Mass Ordinary text, so I chose to include it. However, it would not be a feature of a Sunday Lenten Catholic Mass.
Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorifcamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam, Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili Unigenite, Iesu
Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take
suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu: in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
III. Credo in Unum Deum
away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit: in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
e Credo is an up-tempo jazz swing piece. I wrote four simple melodic ideas so as to not obfuscate the text, as the text speaks of the most important tenets of belief for Christians. Logistically, I set the piece to a fast, driving tempo to accomplish a large amount of text in a shorter period of time, but I also felt that the driving bass line communicated a confdence of belief as Credo, directly translated, means I believe.
At the point of the two great mysteries of faith proclaimed in the Credo (the Incarnation: Christ’s taking on human fesh, and the Resurrection: Christ’s return to life from death and the realm of the dead), you will hear the piano “tremolo”, or rumble on a low diminished chord and crescendo (increase in volume). e singers will then jump up an octave and loudly proclaim the mysteries of faith (“et homo factus est” and “resurrexit”).
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo,
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light,
Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt.
Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.
Crucifxus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.
true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven. And by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit fnis.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivifcantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorifcatur: qui locutus est per prophetas.
Et unam, sanctam, catholicam, et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
For our sake he was crucifed under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorifed, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
e Sanctus movement comes at a critical time in the Catholic liturgy. e gis of bread and wine which have been brought forward by the congregation are elevated by the priest, and their entire substance is physically changed (transubstantiated) from simple bread and wine to the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. In an effort to musically proclaim this mystery of faith, I begin the vamp (repeated chords) in C major and then move to Db major, a key center which is a complete change from the key center of C major. You will notice these key shis with a samba beat pervading throughout the movement as a constant reminder of the change in substance.
Additionally, this is an exceptionally jubilant text. e words hearken to the cries of the angels in the Book of Revelation as well as the cries of the crowd at the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, which we will commemorate in two weeks from today’s premiere, fve days before His Crucifxion on Good Friday. I wrote the shouts of hosanna to sound reminiscent of a trumpet fanfare.
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine
Domine.
Hosanna in excelsis.
V. Agnus Dei
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
I chose to set the Agnus Dei to a mournful, soulful ballad. Jazz ballads became very popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ballads retained the mournful character of the blues, but composers had a desire for more harmonic variety instead of a fairly standard blues
chord progression. is movement is fundamentally a plea for God’s mercy through the redemptive blood of Christ on the cross prior to the congregation’s reception of Holy Communion. While the movement is in C minor, there are several major chords that provide a sense of optimism and encouragement in the midst of the pleading.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
VI. Ite Missa Est
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
e Ite Missa Est is the fnal movement of the Latin Mass Ordinary. e purpose of the text is to both signify the conclusion of the liturgy but also to provide a sending-forth text to spread the word of God to the world.
In Catholic Masses around the world today, it is common to hear the frst and last stanzas of text used at the dismissal of the congregation. e two middle invocations are taken from the nowdefunct Mozarabic and Aquileian Rites of the Catholic Church, respectively. I wanted to have a greater textual variety as well as the ability to pay homage to the Church’s history.
e opening chant introduction is a play on the dismissal from a famous Latin chant Mass called Mass VIII or Missa de Angelis but in a minor key. You may notice the permeation of plagal (Amen) cadences throughout the movement as well – the fnal two chords sung to “Amen” at the end of a hymn text, especially in Protestant hymn singing. With a funk groove, this movement makes for an excellent sending-forth piece.
Ite missa est. Deo gratias.
Solemnia completa sunt in nomine Domine: votum nostrum sit acceptum cum pace.
Go, the Mass is ended. anks be to God.
e celebration is completed in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ; may our prayer be accepted with peace.
Ite benedicti et electi in viam pacis: pro vobis Deo Patri hostia missa est.
Ite in pace, glorifcando vita vestra Dominum.
Go blessed and elect in the way of peace: for you the sacrifcial victim has been sent to God the Father.
Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
Benjamin M. Stalder is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. He is earning dual degrees in Accounting and Music in the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business and the School of Arts and Sciences. He is a member of several selective University ensembles, including the Little Big Band and Black and White Band Jazz Combos, as well as the Schola Cantorum Choir. In addition to voice, Benjamin’s primary instruments are piano and organ, but he also has facility with clarinet and guitar. He actively composes, arranges, and transcribes sacred and secular music on commission. He has studied extensively with David Esleck, jazz piano, Mary Beth Bennett, organ improvisation, and Benjamin Broening, music composition.
Benjamin has brought his wide musical talents to eight churches in the Catholic Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Richmond, including being employed as music director at the University of Richmond’s Catholic Campus Ministry, part of the Office of the Chaplaincy. He has conducted a choir of volunteer students and instrumentalists for Sunday campus worship for the last three years. Additionally, he serves as a freelance jazz pianist for parties, weddings, fundraisers, and corporate functions.
Benjamin is a member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians of America (NPM), holding a certifcation in cantoring and is working on his organ certifcation. Following graduation, he will begin a career in audit and assurance on the CPA track at the international accounting and consulting frm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, in its Pittsburgh, PA office, while continuing to make music, enhance liturgy, and share his musical talents in a variety of venues.
Upcoming Senior Recitals
Leah Li, piano | April 5, 1:00 PM
Perkinson Recital Hall
Ryan ompson, composition | April 11, 5:30 PM
Modlin Courtyard
Dennis Xu, piano | April 12, 7:30 PM
Perkinson Recital Hall
Christine Gyure, piano | April 22, 5:30 PM
Perkinson Recital Hall
