Orchestral Mass at St. Mary in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Mozart's "Spatzenmesse" was "incredible"

The orchestral Mass in Kalamazoo turned out to be a great success.

"The Mass was incredible," one attendee explained. "We got there about 20 minutes before it started and the church was already 65% full. By the time Mass started, I'd say it was 75% to 80% full. The bells were ringing 15 minutes before Mass, calling the faithful to prayer. It was like going back in time."

According to Fr. David Grondz, over 400 people attended the Mass. Certainly no one can make the argument that there is no desire for the Traditional Latin Mass or our liturgical heritage.

Hats off to Fr. Grondz, Fr. Sirico, the choir and everyone at St. Mary Catholic Church who made this very special liturgical event possible. And also profound thank you to Pope Benedict XVI, without whom these fruits of labor and love would not be possible.

May God be glorified!

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Fr. Grondz's introduction:
Sunday; 23 November 2008

Dear Friend,

Many changes have taken place in the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), especially in the celebration of the Mass. Today, due to the influence of Pope Benedict XVI, it is again possible to have a regular celebration of the Mass following the ceremonial of the Liturgical Books issued in 1962, that is, immediately preceding the Ecumenical Council.

Here at St. Mary this type of Celebration is not a “museum-piece”. Rather, by following the desire of the Holy Father, this Form of the Mass may become a familiar part of Catholic life and culture. Over time, this will re-create a sense of continuity in our Liturgical heritage and tradition. This parish celebrates both forms of the Mass, that of the Second Vatican Council¹s Reform in English and that of the older usage, commonly called the “Tridentine” or “Latin” Mass.

It has been my desire as a musician and now as a priest, to reclaim our Catholic tradition of music from the concert hall and return it to its intended use: the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy of the Church. The Mass that we celebrate this afternoon is just such an attempt; the first, I might add, of its¹ kind at St. Mary and quite possibly in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. You will hear Mozart¹s setting of the Mass in a different way, along with Gregorian Chant and all of the complexity and mystery of the Mass celebrated in Latin. Please remember that this is not a performance, but a Sacred Action. Applause is not appropriate. Although Mozart might have found it amusing, please turn off your cellular telephone or switch it to the “vibrate” setting.

I have included here some basic directions and translations of the texts used throughout the Mass, so that you may follow along and participate in the celebration more fully. It is not important that you understand every word or gesture. The experience of the Liturgy, which gives us a glimpse into Eternity, engages all of our human senses and not just our ability to understand the written or spoken word. If you have ever been to the opera, it is a similar experience; at some point you put down the program and follow the story, perhaps imperfectly, but the gestures and costumes of the actors or the beauty of the music convey something to you as well. In the celebration of the Mass, what is communicated to you is the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, not as a symbol or a story, but in reality! Christ, raised from the dead, is made present on the Altar and given as food to His people for the journey towards Eternal Life.

I would encourage you to put down the program and enter into the great beauty and mystery of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Fr. David Grondz
Parochial Vicar

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Mozart's "Sparrow Missa Brevis" (Mass No. 10 in C major, K. 220) will be offered with full choir and solemn Mass at St. Mary Catholic Church in Kalamazoo on November 23rd at 12:15 pm.

This mass is known as ‘Spatzenmesse’ – the 'Sparrow Mass' – because the violin motif of the Sanctus has a rather interesting bird-like chirping quality.

There’s no doubt that at least this portion of the Sanctus was inspired by bird songs, as were pieces by other composers such as Beethoven, Schubert and Haydn. However, there is reason to believe that Mozart’s bird song inspiration went beyond the mere academic, and into the rather bizarre.

In 1784 Morzart’s pet starling died, and a distraught Mozart staged a funeral for the animal, insisting that his friends attend and sing hymns at the graveside. Mozart recited a poem in honor of his dead starling that he composed for the event. Many of Mozart’s compositions following this eccentric behavior have bird song qualities, and many students of the art, as well as ornithologists, are convinced that Mozart attempted in his compositions to emulate his long-lost starling’s song.

But there is more to this Mass than the chirping violin phrase embedded in the Sanctus, and it is really rather a pity that this Mass should be styled after a single phrase. Like all of Mozart’s Masses, the Sparrow is ornate and intricate, but avoids the operatic and overly complicated. The transitions are smooth, the harmonies flow in and out in a meditative cadence, conclusively focused on the purpose of the music, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Some criticize the Mass as lacking the “poetic”, but these are usually the typical bow-tie wearing, bespectacled, cantankerous, music academics. There is an achievement in this Mass that technical analysis, the microscope of modern rationalistic music mathematics, fails to fathom. The Sparrow Mass moves both the mind and the heart toward the altar, and upward toward God. The melody moves, in an inexplicable way, the eyes toward the apse, the mind upward toward the height of human achievement, and then sweeps the eye of faith beyond the human to that which perfects the lowly work of man, the Divine grace of the Word stooping down to lead forth the stray and wandering sheep.

St. Mary Catholic Church will place this masterpiece back in its element. The setting for this masterpiece, not a concert hall or a studio, but the setting for which it was intended, the very Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is an immeasurable gift, a real fruit of the Holy Father’s motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum. Please don’t miss this opportunity to experience the art of liturgy, the profundity of man’s love for God made manifest, in this glorious Mass.

Once again, November 23rd, 12:15 pm, St. Mary Catholic Church, Kalamazoo.