Mass (Bernstein)

Mass (formally: MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers) is a musical theatre work composed by Leonard Bernstein. The text includes the Latin mass text, with additional lyrics by Bernstein and by Stephen Schwartz. Commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy, it premiered on September 8, 1971, directed by Gordon Davidson, conducted by Maurice Peress and choreographed by Alvin Ailey. The production used costume designs by Frank Thompson. The performance was part of the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Mass premiered in Europe in 1973, with John Mauceri conducting the Yale Symphony Orchestra in Vienna.

The work is based on the Tridentine Mass of the Catholic Church. The liturgical passages are sung mostly in Latin, though the "Sanctus" includes portions in Hebrew. Mass also includes additional texts in English written by Bernstein, Stephen Schwartz, and Paul Simon (who wrote the first quatrain of the trope "Half of the People"). The work is intended to be staged theatrically, but it has also been performed in a standard concert setting. Music critic Peter G. Davis in an analysis of the work's musical merits described Mass as a "work [of] vertiginous stylistic gamut with acid rock and 12-tone serialism, Renaissance polyphony and Mahler, jazz, Broadway and down-home Americana. ... Yes, Bernstein could manipulate a 12-tone row with the best of them."

Initial critical reception, including a review in The New York Times, was largely negative. The Columbia Records recording of the work enjoyed excellent sales, and in 2025 Richard Morrison commented at BBC Music that in recent years it has undergone something of a revival, with listeners more open to its chaotic blend of styles.

The concept of Mass derived from three sources: Bernstein's experience conducting at Robert F. Kennedy's funeral in 1968 in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan; the Beethoven bicentenary in Vienna in 1970; and a small piece "A Simple Song" he wrote for Franco Zeffirelli's 1972 film Brother Sun, Sister Moon before withdrawing from that project after three months during which time he worked with Leonard Cohen.

Paul Simon was also approached for music and lyrics for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, but he too declined. However, a quatrain he wrote while considering the commission was later presented to Bernstein for use in his Mass.

The original cast consisted of a Celebrant, three choirs, and altar servers. A full classical orchestra performed in the pit, while onstage musicians—including a rock band and a marching band—performed and interacted onstage.

The piece begins with pre-recorded 4-part contrary musics of vocal soloists and percussion. The resultant cacophony is cut off by a guitar and the Celebrant singing "A Simple Song".

Despite an initial wide-ranging eclecticism (evoking cool jazz, marching bands, world music, Lutheran chorale, and classical modernism) all of the performers are in apparent harmony and agreement. During the course of the Mass, however, the street choir begins expressing doubts and suspicions about the necessity of God in their lives and the role of the Mass. The street chorus sings with the Latin lyrics until they hit a line which they twist into a complaint or a self-serving boast; i.e. "dona nobis pacem" (English: "grant us peace") turns into the street chorus, "Give us peace NOW!" In this way, Bernstein interweaves and contrasts social commentary and prayer.