OR YEARS, I’ve heard about Dom Gregory Murray’s People’s Mass. At the moment, I won’t reveal too much, since later on I will be posting several rare documents by Dom Murray, but suffice it to say he loved to brag about this Mass. Written first in Latin, later in English, he would brag, saying, “It may not be musically rewarding, but I sold more copies than anybody else.” I have no way to verify his statement one way or the other, but allegedly both versions sold millions and millions of copies.
I have a lot of respect for Dom Gregory Murray’s compositions. At a later date, I hope to post online (for free) his beautiful “organ preludes for manuals only” which he started writing in the 1930s. I’ve played these for a decade and love them. However, when I finally saw his People’s Mass, I was very disappointed. I found it very predictable and uninspired. However, several of the sections are growing on me a bit.
Anyway, here’s the Latin version. Somebody could make a lot of money by “plugging in” the New Translation of the Roman Missal and selling it:
* * Dom Gregory Murray’s “People’s Mass” (Latin version) [pdf]
I found this in a fascinating collection that we posted in 2008 by Eugene Lapierre:
* * Accompaniment to the Music of Holy Week [pdf]
By the way, Dr. Eugene Lapierre was the one who encouraged Roger Wagner to complete his doctorate “in absentia.” I believe Wagner’s dissertation was on the music of Josquin Des Prez. Anyway, we’ve posted many Gregorian accompaniments by Lapierre, but that book is probably the most exceptional one, because of the interesting things he included. I hope you enjoy it!
It has been in the Lalande Online Library since 2008. As some of you know, in 2008, Corpus Christi Watershed released about 25,000 pages of Sacred music for free and instant download:
* * St. Jean de Lalande Website [url]
