Missa Brevis
(ft. Grace Davidson & Julia Doyle)
Album Pre-release Summary
A Missa Brevis (Short Mass) is a long established choral musical tradition whereby composers set original music to religious texts from the Eucharistic liturgy. Over centuries, composers including Brahms, Bernstein and Britten have been inspired to write for this medium, often producing some of their most profound work. Originally commissioned by Dollar Academy Chamber Choir to celebrate the bicentenary of the school in 2018, Euan Stevenson’s Missa Brevis is an original three-movement choral work set to these texts:
1. Kyrie
2. Gloria
3. Agnus Dei
In 2019, the choral work received a U.K premiere in St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh followed by a U.S premiere in Irvine, Los Angeles. Stevenson’s Missa Brevis combines respect for tradition with a contemporary touch - the lyricism of the hymnal Kyrie and plaintive Agnus Dei in contrast with the briskly-paced Gloria in which plainchant-inspired melodies are transformed by jazz rhythms over the course of a rapidly modulating harmonic landscape.
In 2021, seeking to reconcile his interests in choral and chamber instrumental writing, Stevenson rearranged the work for contemporary classical ensemble Earthtones Trio (flute, cello and piano) with emerging soprano partnership Vox Duo.
Demo recordings (unreleased) produced by Stevenson for iOcco Music at Gloworm Studios and the RSNO Centre, Glasgow can be previewed here::
Grace Davidson
In January 2022, the mesmerising voice of Grace Davidson - a soprano who specialises in early music and features on over 140 film scores - came to Stevenson’s attention. Around the same time, a chance encounter led to a meeting with Davidson’s fellow soprano and musical soul-mate Julia Doyle and in February Stevenson began rearranging the Missa Brevis along with several other of his existing compositions for the duo, including a setting of Yeats’ poem Cloths in Heaven, Psalm 137 (in Hebrew) and three arrangements of pieces from 'Sound Tracks’.
Julia Doyle
Julia Doyle is an established specialist soprano and aria soloist who regularly performs with the world’s top orchestras.
Recent performances include Bach St John Passion (Sir John Eliot Gardiner), Christmas Oratorio in Sydney and Melbourne with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (Richard Tognetti), BWV 202 with Music of the Baroque in Chicago (Nicholas Kraemer), Handel Occasional Oratorio at the Halle Handel Festival (English Concert), La Resurrezione at The Wigmore Hall (London Handel Orchestra), Messiah at The Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Richard Cooke) & The Palace of Versailles with the King’s Consort.
Pre-Release Summary
Pre-production - tbc Summer 2022
Press - tbc Summer 2022
Radio- tbc Summer 2022
Digital- tbc Summer 2022
Social - tbc Summer 2022
Impact Period - tbc Summer 2022
As the musical arrangements developed, Stevenson substituted piano for pipe organ and recording the new arrangements in the stunning acoustics of the Temple Church in London (also famous for the Da Vinci Code) is scheduled for the summer of 2022. The recordings will feature an ensemble of top classical players including Alex Mason, organ, Peter Gregson, cello, Eliza Marshall, woodwinds. Pre-production involves Stevenson working with each player to tailor the arrangements to the strength of each individual and their voice/instruments.
The final recorded output of MISSA BREVIS (ft. Grace Davidson/Julia Doyle) will comprise an album of Stevenson’s arrangements for this line up of compositions created between 2012 - 2022. Building on the associations of Davidson and the players involved, iOcco Classical is exploring partnerships with production companies and record labels. Initial discussions are underway with potential partners including Floating Earth, Signum, Decca and Deutsche Gramophone for release in Summer 2023.