The Missa Cambrensis is a big production by any stretch of the imagination. The Guardian reviewer of the 2016 performance regarded it as Mahlerian in concept. Malcolm Boyd in his study of Grace Williams has suggested that it is “in many ways the consummation of her life’s work.” Scale wise at least, I was reminded of Herbert Howells’s colossal Missa Sabrinensis.
Grace Williams (1906-1977) is often regarded as Wales's most significant female composer. Born in Barry, Glamorgan, she developed an early interest in music, learning piano and violin. Winning a scholarship to Cardiff University in 1923 she later studied at the Royal College of Music in London under Gordon Jacob and Ralph Vaughan Williams. In 1930, she spent a year studying with Egon Wellesz in Vienna. Williams wrote across a wide range of genres, including two symphonies, an opera - The Parlour, concertos, chamber music, film scores and songs. Her compositions were often inspired by Welsh landscapes and the sea, most notably the Sea Sketches (1944). Some of her most ‘popular’ pieces include Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes (1940) and Penillion (1955), written for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.
The Missa Cambrensis was written between 1968 and 1971 as a commission for the Llandaff Festival. Paul Conway, in the liner notes, reminds the listener that the adjective Cambrensis means “of Wales.”
Rhiannon Mathias, in her book
about Grace Williams, explains that the festival committee had a policy of
encouraging works which explored the connection between Christianity and the Church.
Seemingly, Williams originally thought about producing an opera for the event
but decided that a Mass would be more suitable for the venue.
It is intriguing that Grace Williams, a confirmed agnostic, should have chosen to compose a setting of the Mass. Williams had previously produced a handful of liturgical works including a Magnificat (1939) and a Benedicite (1964). Yet, as Mathias notes, her teacher, Ralph Vaughan Williams, also an agnostic, wrote numerous pieces for the church.
As can be seen from the credits the Mass is scored for large forces, including four soloists, mixed chorus, boys’ choir, and speaker. The orchestra is large, with much percussion and includes a piano. It is important to recall that it was devised for the concert hall and was never intended to be used at a celebration of the Eucharist.
Structurally, the Missa Cambrensis is divided into the five movements of a traditional Mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus with Benedictus and finally the Agnus Dei. The language used is Latin. However, Williams has provided two “extra-liturgical” sections. The first is the inclusion of her 1955 Carol Nadolig (A Christmas Carol) to a text by Cymraeg poet and nationalist Saunders Lewis. Sung in Welsh by children’s voices it makes a delightful interlude. The other interpolation is the recitation of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10). This series of blessings from the Sermon on the Mount are spoken by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
Despite some critical contention
that the interpolations fail due to the relative “feebleness” of the music, I
found them quite moving. They are not essential to the overall structure of the
work. Another criticism levelled is the preponderance of slow music after the
Gloria. Yet this did not cause me any problems. The overall impact is one of
intensity coupled with melancholy, and an unsettling balance between an austere
sound and a few moments of warmth. The spirit is lifted simply by the sheer
power of her writing.
The Missa Cambrensis was premiered at Llandaff Cathedral on 16 June 1971. It was deemed a success by composers and commentators present but was ungenerously panned by Kenneth Loveland in The Times.
The putative listener will wonder what Grace Williams’s Mass sounds like. At the time of its premiere, Malcolm Boyd noted similarities with Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. The added non liturgical texts partially accounted for this opinion. Other music that may have influenced her are Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and RVWs’ Dona Nobis Pacem. Yet there is a distinctive, if intangible, Welsh feel about the Missa Cambrensis. Whatever antecedents may have been in her mind, the resultant is entirely Grace Williams’s invention.
The present performance cannot be faulted. A great deal is demanded of all the singers and instrumentalists. The recording of this remarkable choral work is impeccable. The extensive liner notes devised by Paul Conway is a masterclass. He provides a thirteen-page essay including an introduction to Grace Williams and her achievement, as well as a detailed discussion about the genesis of the Mass, and a non-technical analysis of the music. Texts and translations are included at the front of the booklet.
I think the last word can go to Malcolm Boyd: “[The Missa Cambrensis] may not be [an] unflawed masterpiece, but it is a work of great power, rich in incident, generous in feeling and exemplary in craftsmanship.”
Track Listing:Grace Williams (1906-77)
Missa Cambrensis (1971)
Lyrita SRCD 442
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