MASSES, MOTETS AND CHORAL WORKS

The Mass (Latin: Missa), a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy. Most Masses are settings of the liturgy in Latin, the liturgical sacred language of the Catholic Church's Roman liturgy, but there are a significant number written in the languages of non-Catholic countries where vernacular worship has long been the norm. Musical Masses take their name from the Catholic liturgy called "the Mass" as well. Masses can be a cappella, that is, without an independent accompaniment, or they can be accompanied by instrumental obbligatos up to and including a full orchestra. Many Masses, especially later ones, were never intended to be performed during the celebration of an actual mass. In classical music, a motet is a highly varied choral musical composition. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music.