New Mass setting welcomes congregational singing back to worship

When congregational singing returned to worship last weekend, Mass-goers and streamers were treated to a brand-new Mass setting. The Mass parts for The Mass of St. Gertrude the Great were written by the parish’s music director Alex Ulle.

“One Saturday morning while I was doing some work around the church, a little melody came into my head, so I ran and wrote it down. A couple of hours later, I sat down and wrote the rest of the Mass setting,” said Ulle.

In general, a Mass setting is a set of related musical pieces written in a similar style. Usually an author writes a Gloria, Holy, Memorial Acclamations and Lamb of God.

“Over the years, I have found that many settings are too rangy or too high for most congregations to sing, so I set out to write one that was easy to follow and sing along to.”

St. Gertrude the Great is honored by both the Catholic and Episcopal Churches. Officially, she’s the patron of the West Indies but is also an intercessor for souls in purgatory. Her feast day in the Roman Catholic calendar is November 16.

Watch and listen to the video below to pick up on the melodies for The Mass of St. Gertrude the Great including a download below to see the music.

Download mass-of-st-gertrude-the-great.pdf