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Mass
for Mixed Chorus, Timpani, Percussion, Harp, Organ, Strings, or only Organ
I. Kyrie,
II. Gloria,
III. Credo,
IV. Sanctus et Benedictus,
V. Agnus Dei   

Duration: 30 minutes
SP 243

"The Mass, according to Paulus, is a 'visceral, almost sensual' rendering of one of the
most ancient liturgical texts.The text spans an awesome range of moods, from spiritual
exultation to quiet reverence, with an underpinning of unwavering faith that demands of
the composer a complete 'reverence for the text'...The Kyrie [begins] with a quiet,
sustained intensity, 'just a simple ostenuto pattern, a two-note pulse between G and A.'
The effect lends the section a kind of brooding mystery..., [Paulus recounts] 'I deliberately withheld the
organ until the second movement to make its entrance much more dramatic.'
1ndeed,...the Gloria arrives like a thunderbolt, seizing the listener with its tension and
exuberance, the full power of the choir unleashed in a dazzling pyrotechnic display of
layered voices and staccato rhythms... Paulus again surprises [with] an ambitious
         seven-fold 'amen' that brings the section to a crashing crescendo. This is not to
              suggest that Paulus's Mass is all sturm und drang. Far from it. His Sanctus
               contains a painfully exquisite duet between chorus and harp, framed by the
                                           sopranos' line arching elegantly to the top of their range.
                      --James Carman, "Notes on the Music" from www.masterchorale.org

World Premiere: The New Choral Society of Central Westchester, May 15 & 16, 1999
Conductor: Dr. John T. King