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The Mass, according to Assistant Professor of Music Ralf Yusuf Gawlick, is “one of the most celebrated musical genres of human expression.” And this Monday, Gawlick will formally add his own imprint to the genre.
Gawlick is the composer of “Missa gentis humanæ,” a Mass for eight-voice a cappella choir that will be presented Feb. 17 in St. Ignatius Church by a renowned, Grammy-nominated New York City ensemble whose members will be on campus as artists-in-residence.
Under the direction of critically acclaimed conductor Julian Wachner, an octet from the Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street will premiere “Missa gentis humanæ,” which is Latin for “Mass of the human race.” The free, public event, which takes place at 8 p.m., is the group’s exclusive Boston-area appearance, and Gawlick has dedicated the work to the choir.
The Mass, Gawlick’s largest work to date, “continues a long and distinguished tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages,” said Gawlick, who describes the piece as “an expression of my faith and work as a composer embracing this tradition. Writing for eight-voice a cappella choir was an extraordinary experience, calling upon over two decades of study of Masses from the late Middle Ages to the present.
“It is a great honor to place the world premiere of this work into the hands of Julian Wachner and eight soloists from the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, one of the preeminent choirs in the United States, and Boston College artists-in-residence for four days,” Gawlick said.
The source and origin of his Mass setting “lies in including Christ’s call to Love from the Gospel According to St. John into the traditional texts of the Mass Ordinary,” according to Gawlick. He was inspired to augment the Latin Mass texts with literary reflections, meditations and exhortations on love by authors throughout the centuries.
“Phrases and passages – from Borges, Virgil, Brecht, Dostoevsky, Plautus, Scott and the Gospel According to St. John – establish broad aesthetic, devotional, linguistic and literary perspectives that engage with the Mass texts and each other,” he noted. “This dramatic fusion of different languages, ideas, beliefs and Augustinian-type ‘confessions’ within the Mass Ordinary creates a profound dialogue with doctrine.”
It is singular as a Mass setting, he added, in its interweaving of texts from multiple languages and time periods with the Latin. With this approach “the Mass becomes and resonates as a multi-layered dialogue of faith, expression and ideas. By embracing different languages and texts, the appeal becomes universal.”
Robert Schuneman, president of ECS [classical music] Publishing, praised “Missa gentis humanæ” as “a true masterpiece...[that] will live in the annals of this century as a significant signpost of our time.”
A labor of love, Gawlick composed the hour-long, grand-scale piece – with the music material based on the name of his wife (Basia, known as Barbara, also a Music Department faculty member) – from 2008-2010 and has long anticipated its debut. “Patience,” he quipped, “is something one learns as a contemporary classical composer.
“One does not need to be a musician, or Catholic, to appreciate this piece,” according to Gawlick, “since it is a work tied to faith, linguistics, philosophy, theology, literature, history and music.”
Gawlick is pleased that it will now be brought to life by the Trinity Choir, hailed by the New York Times as “the superb resident ensemble of Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan rightly renowned for its polished, spirited renditions of major works from the classical choral repertory.” The Times describes its performances as “transcendent” and “moving.”
Wachner is equally delighted to direct the choir’s performance of the Mass: “Ralf’s music is beautiful, well-crafted and singable. This work is a serious statement that simultaneously honors the ancient past while wrapping these varied and striking texts with the language of the present. The craft is solid and profound, creating an other-worldy beauty.”
In addition to its performance, the ensemble will record the Mass for the international distributed label Musica Omnia, and BC students will have the opportunity to attend some rehearsals and recording sessions. Following its Boston College debut, a New York premiere is scheduled for 2015.
Gawlick’s work was sponsored by the Institute for the Liberal Arts. The artists’ residency and premiere performance is supported by the ILA in addition to the Music Department, School of Ministry and Theology, Jesuit Institute, College of Arts and Sciences and Church of the 21st Century Center.
For more information on the upcoming performance, contact the Music Department concert line at ext.2-6004 or email concerts@bc.edu.