Music Fridays- Liturgy, Mozart, and Modern Music: Part 4

Last week, we heard the full Gloria section of Mozart's Mass in C Minor, which is based on the section of the old communion liturgy which reads:

Glory be to God on high.

And in earth peace towards men of good will.

We praise thee.

We bless thee.

We worship thee.

We glorify thee.

We give thanks to thee for thy great glory.

O Lord God, heavenly King

God the Father almighty.

O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesu Christ.

O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.

Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.

Thou that sittest at the right of the Father, have mercy upon us.

For thou only art Holy. Thou only art the Lord. Thou only art the Most High.

Thou only, O Jesu Christ,

with the Holy Ghost, art Most

High in the glory of God the Father. Amen

Much in modern worship music and liturgy echos the themes of this section even though most Protestant churches no longer use the old liturgy.

The "gloria" and "laudemus te" sections are all about celebrating and praising God.

My first exposure to the Gloria came long before my conversion through this U2 video. Back then, I had no idea that Bono and company were Christians. I just knew they rocked. They still do.

Here is Chris Tomlin's Glory in the Highest live from the Passion 2007 conference


The next section in the liturgy is often called sometimes called a "trisagion prayer" because there is a three-fold repetition:

God the Father almighty.

O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesu Christ.

O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.

Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.

Thou that sittest at the right of the Father, have mercy upon us.

This repetition is often accompanied by the priest and or the people making the sign of the cross three times. We typically think of Roman Catholicism when we see someone "crossing" themselves or see a clergy person making the sign of the cross- but in fact the Eastern Orthodox do this as well as a surprising number of Protestants including Anglicans, Lutherans, and yes some Methodists. (My wife is one of them- and sometimes so am I.)

This section is also called the "Agnus Dei" because it refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God, a title John the Baptist called Jesus and which is reflected in the book of Revelation and in other New Testament passages.

By far, the most famous modern example is Michael W. Smith's Agnus Dei.

Here is Kirk Franklin's Behold the Lamb for some Gospel flavor.

Next week, we'll hear Mozart's Credo.