Gregorian Chant – Mass of the Annunciation

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The recording was made during a live celebration of High Mass according to the traditional Roman rite. This rite represents a liturgy that dates back, essentially unchanged, to the time of St Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), and was in common use until the introduction of the new Missal by Pope Paul VI in 1969, following the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council.

Texts and translations of the sung parts of the Mass are given in full, and these are followed by the full text of the parts assigned to the clergy, including the numerous semi-silent prayers that occasionally overlap with the singing of the choir. The listener will find himself in a similar position to that of someone seated in the nave, facing the altar, with the choir in the foreground and the clergy beyond them in the sanctuary.

It is the music of the organ and choir that first strikes the ear, together with the audibly chanted prayers… At the same time, the listener is soon alerted to the fact that more is going on… So, with the aid of the texts of both the audible and inaudible parts, he is able to reconstruct in his mind a full and rounded picture of the whole of this ancient liturgy.