Sacred+Instrumental+Music

Sacred Instrumental Music

__**Mass, Requiem Mass and Oratorio**__ A mass involved different sections that were all sung in Latin. These lyrics were sung to praise God and ask for his forgiveness, etc. They can be unaccompanied (acapella) or they can be sung with and orchestra.

Orchestras were used in requiem masses (mass for the dead), along with soprano, alto, tenor and bass vocals. Because of the use of orchestra and vocals, a requiem mass is predominantly polyphonic and dense in texture, with a smooth tone colour. Like a mass, there are different sections in a requiem mass, with the vocal lyrics also being in Latin.

Like a requiem mass, an oratorio is also written for orchestra and vocals. It is also dense in texture because of polyphony. Unlike a mass or a requiem mass, which is specifically written for worship, an oratorio is a concert piece.

- The piece uses a wide range of pitch with the combination of male and female voices. - Through the entire piece, both the male and female voices have stepping melodies, as does the brass playing behind the vocals. (They are not smooth contours.) However the strings do have a smooth contour. - The piece has a dense texture with the use of strings, male and female voices and brass instruments. This dense texture contributes to the loud dynamics, which are present for the majority of the piece. - A dark tone colour is created through the combination of low brass, strings and vocals playing stepping melodies. - Male and female voices sing in harmony throughout the piece.
 * Song Analysis - Requiem (kyrie) by Mozart**