The twentieth century in Britain witnessed a renewed interest in the number of new settings of the Missa Brevis being composed by leading contemporary composers. These included works by Richard Rodney Bennett, Lennox Berkley, Benjamin Britten, Brian Ferneyhough and Jonathan Harvey to name just a few. This new setting by George Arthur takes both the traditional Austrian Missa Brevis as cultivated by Mozart and Haydn and mixes it with the techniques of the symphonic mass settings we see in Bruckner’s settings. The composer does not set the words of the Creed and the words of the Gloria are telescoped so that different lines of text are sung at the same time.

This is a beautiful and concise setting of the Missa Brevis. With it’s very clear and basic construction it should be easy for a choir to learn, however the choir will need a good sense of pitch to ensure that the close harmonies are correct. This is ideal for use within the context of a church service or as a short concert filler for a good amateur choir.