MISSA Contra PESTEM 1348 _ CD Release Concert on Saturday, June 15, 2024

The new CD by VOX NOSTRA "Missa contra pestem" presents the first recording of sacred vocal music against the pandemic from the time of the great plague epidemic of 1347-1350, at the St. Canisius Church in Berlin-Charlottenburg.

In 1348, due to the devastating plague epidemic, Pope Clement VI compiled a "Plague Mass" at the papal palace in Avignon, made up of carefully selected Gregorian chants from the church year that were over 1,000 years old. The texts bear witness to a high willingness to repent, to appease an angry God who sent the plague as punishment for the supposed sins of mankind. This music was meant to provide comfort and hope in these difficult times.

In the Introit (entrance chant) of the Mass "Recordare domine testamenti tui," it says, for example: "Remember, O Lord, your covenant, and say to the angel who brings destruction: Stop your hand, that the earth may not be desolate and that you do not destroy every living soul."
All believers who attended this special Mass were promised protection from the plague and an indulgence of 260 days. Protection from sudden death without the sacrament of the sick could also be obtained if one followed this special Mass for five consecutive days on their knees with a burning candle in hand.
This papal composition of a "Plague Mass" is a virtually unknown curiosity in music history and was an immediate musical response to the plague wave of 1347-1351, which claimed a quarter of the population in Europe.
The chants for the Proper are over 1,000 years old and in Latin, and the Plague Mass is complemented by monophonic and polyphonic Ordinary compositions (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei) from the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Plague Mass has been recorded in several European manuscripts of the late Middle Ages - often as an addition in already existing codices like in Codex 448 of the Monastery of St. Gallen - as epidemic outbreaks repeatedly occurred in world history.
*** Venue of the concert: St. Canisius Church at Witzlebenstraße 30, 14057 Berlin-Charlottenburg

---

TICKETS