Bernstein: Mass

CD Details

Leonard Bernstein composed Mass as the inaugural work for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. This contemporary classical composition sets the Latin Mass to music, blending liturgical text with dramatic orchestral and vocal writing. The work opens with Devotions Before The Mass and features the hymn A Simple Song, weaving together various movements that explore both spiritual devotion and theatrical intensity.

This 2009 recording features the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop on the Naxos American Classics label. The performance includes soloists, a children’s choir, and the Morgan State University chorus, capturing the full scope of Bernstein’s ambitious score with its mix of classical, pop, and Broadway idioms. Grab this used CD and experience one of the most compelling interpretations of this landmark twentieth-century work.