A Contemporary Mass

MISSA AZZURRO VERDE
Lydia McCauley, Composer

A Contemporary Mass Setting

Commissioned by
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Bellingham, Washington
Frederick Frahm, Director of Music

A new Mass setting is being sung at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bellingham, Washington. MISSA AZZURRO VERDE, commissioned by St. Paul’s in 2006, is used in the nine a.m. less formal Eucharist service, and is supported by an ensemble of vocalists and musicians with flute, guitar and piano.

Composed by Lydia McCauley, professional musician and co-owner of the independent music label Brimstone Music, “Missa Azzurro Verde” (mass of blue and green) is a tribute to the heavens and the earth meeting as one in unity. The Mass includes settings of the Kyrie eleison, Gloria in excelsis, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. There are also optional settings of the fraction anthem (Pascha nostrum) and the Trisagion.

Frederick Frahm, prolific composer of organ works, chamber music and choral scores, asked Lydia to compose the Mass for a contemporary Eucharist in her simple songwriting style. He mentored her through the process, engraved the music, and arranged the keyboard setting of the Sanctus. Lydia was deeply honored to write music for a church congregation and to be tutored by a master such as Frahm. [Learn more about this composer at http://www.frederickfrahm.com]

Missa Azzurro Verde is set for Congregation, Choir, Keyboard and Guitar. It includes a pew score.The Kyrie and Christ our Passover are set in a minor key and may be performed unaccompanied as plainchant, with or without a faux bourdon. The contemplative settings of the Trisagion and Agnus Dei incorporate Lydia’s love of Celtic and Appalachian music, which grows full with joy in the Gloria in excelsis
and Sanctus. Performance licences for the Mass are available from the composer.

Lydia McCauley is a singer, pianist, and composer whose music is influenced by Folk, medieval, and Classical genres. She began studying piano at age five, grew up singing in choirs, documentedAppalachian Folk music in college, and maintained a piano studio while raising a family. She has released six full length albums on her own music label, and has been touring the U.S, and Canada with her ensemble of musicians for ten years.

Lydia’s album cut “Kyrie eleison” from The Beauty of the Earth recording is currently featured on Jet Blue, Frontier Airlines, Musak, Sirius Satellite Radio, and Martha Stewart Living. [For more information visit her website at http://www.LydiaMcCauley.com]