oa Obrecht and the Mass for St. Donatian: A Multi-Media Triptych

That composers created settings of the mass ordinary for use within the mass ceremony is known to both performers who sing this music and scholars who study it. Yet the original function of this music as an essential part of a complex dramatic worship ritual seldom informs its performance or analysis today, and for good reason: this elaborate context, in which music combines with ritual gesture and action in sacred space adorned with religious images, is no longer part of our modern experience.

This essay explores a path-breaking multi-media project designed to rebuild this bridge to the past and enable performers, scholars, and students to re-imagine the context for which this music was created, allowing function to offer insights into questions of performance practice and analysis. The Sounds of Salvation: A Re-creation of the Mass for St. Donation by Jacob Obrecht is an extensive collaborative project by musicologist M. Jennifer Bloxam and Stratton Bull, the Artistic Director of Cappella Pratensis, who here describe their process and reflect on the challenges and benefits of the three components of the project: a commercial CD/DVD presenting a filmed re-creation of the ceremony, a website devoted to Obrecht and the mass for St. Donatian, and a concert and workshop tour based on the project.