Arnold Rosner’s interest in early music, and in particular music of the Renaissance, has never been clearer than it is in the two beautiful Masses contained on this disc. One could be forgiven for thinking at first that one was listening to an a cappella Mass by Josquin des Prez. Before long, through some anachronistic harmonic progressions, one becomes aware that the composer must be from our own era. The excellent notes in the accompanying booklet by Fanfare colleague Carson Cooman speak about Rosner’s “characteristically personal approach to the genre-blending Renaissance contrapuntal practice with his free approach to modality and his desire for the dramatic contrasts of romantic emotional expression.”

Rosner himself has written about these two works, along with a third, earlier Missa Greensleeves, as follows: “The three a cappella choral Masses may hearken somewhat to the styles of 400 or so years back—as if Josquin and Lassus were just a generation past—ignoring vast musical universes in between. I argued that neo-modal Masses had been written by Vaughan Williams in 1922 [and] Stravinsky in 1948, and there were admittedly youthful, but creditable, attempts by Ginastera and Martin. But my Masses were as far from timely as they could be during the post-atonal age in which they were composed. Then into the bargain was added the notion of ‘where did it come for a composer of unmixed Jewish descent to write Catholic Masses?’ When asked, I would simply respond, ‘We are all God’s children, and music is my religion.’” Missa L’homme armé was written in 1971 and reflects the composer’s pacifist views. He was an outspoken opponent of America’s policies toward Vietnam, and this piece expresses a mournful sadness and even bitterness. Missa In nomine was composed in 1974 and was in some ways intended as a celebration of the end of the American-Vietnam war. In contrast to the usual practice of ending a Mass with a quiet, inward-looking Dona nobis pacem, that section is jubilant here, exhibiting Rosner’s personal reaction to the 1973 peace agreement. Both of these compositions are likely to be enjoyed by anyone who responds to traditional choral repertoire. Rosner provides a fascinating approach to using a foundation from centuries ago to construct something new without violating the aesthetic of that foundation.

The two Masses are separated on the program by a brief madrigal, Peace, My Heart, taken from a set of nine Tagore Madrigals composed in 1968. This is music of sweet tenderness that makes for a lovely interlude between the two longer works.

The recorded sound is an ideal blend of reverberance and clarity, and the singing of the British chamber choir Blossom Street, directed by their founder, Hilary Campbell, is everything a composer could wish for in terms of beauty of sound, purity of intonation, and clarity of rhythm and diction. In addition to Cooman’s fine notes, there is a helpful and informative biography of Rosner by Fanfare colleague Walter Simmons. Cooman and Simmons are co-administrators of the Rosner estate, and of the Rosner revival that seems underway. This disc is enthusiastically recommended as a lovely product of that revival.