Bernstein Mass?
We might presume to know why composers write music based on religious texts. Certainly it does seem in some cases that composers had extra musical reasons. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is an example, where not only does it feel like a very large scale religious work, but Beethoven's own description of it suggests that he had motives other than simply musical ones. Bernstein's Mass on the other hand presents some big conundrums. Musically it is not rooted in an obvious tradition of religious music, and Bernstein was not brought up in a Catholic tradition. He did write other pieces perhaps touching on religious themes, though not necessarily Christian ones.
Maybe many reviewers and critics have dismissed Bernstein's "religious" music, but it seems strange that such an able and thoughtful man would write music without considering the extra musical effects. It would no doubt be possible for a declared atheist (I'm not suggesting that Bernstein was one) to write a musical mass as a purely technical exercise, or cynically for money or a commission, but many would find that slightly implausible. Some composers clearly align themselves to a religion. James MacMillan is an obvious contemporary example. Some composers may have started "in one religion" and then moved to another - examples include Mendelssohn and Mahler, though arguably this was for pragmatic rather than reasons based on belief. Perhaps similarly, Bernstein, who one asumes was brought up with Jewish traditions, may have experimented with different religions, though I know of no evidence for this. There would not seem to have been any practical necessity for him to show interest in other religious traditions, where earlier composers might have found it helpful to align themselves differently and publically.
Mass has been declared as a theatre piece. We could just write it off as a possibly poor piece of music, but questions still remain about why it was written, and what function it is to perform.
Maybe many reviewers and critics have dismissed Bernstein's "religious" music, but it seems strange that such an able and thoughtful man would write music without considering the extra musical effects. It would no doubt be possible for a declared atheist (I'm not suggesting that Bernstein was one) to write a musical mass as a purely technical exercise, or cynically for money or a commission, but many would find that slightly implausible. Some composers clearly align themselves to a religion. James MacMillan is an obvious contemporary example. Some composers may have started "in one religion" and then moved to another - examples include Mendelssohn and Mahler, though arguably this was for pragmatic rather than reasons based on belief. Perhaps similarly, Bernstein, who one asumes was brought up with Jewish traditions, may have experimented with different religions, though I know of no evidence for this. There would not seem to have been any practical necessity for him to show interest in other religious traditions, where earlier composers might have found it helpful to align themselves differently and publically.
Mass has been declared as a theatre piece. We could just write it off as a possibly poor piece of music, but questions still remain about why it was written, and what function it is to perform.
Comment