Mass is a liturgical musical form rooted in the Catholic tradition, setting the sacred texts of the Eucharistic service—Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei—to music. Emerging from Gregorian chant in medieval times, the mass evolved through the Renaissance polyphony of Machaut and Palestrina, the Baroque grandeur of Bach and Mozart, and into the Romantic and modern eras with composers like Dvořák, Janáček, and Martinů. Unlike the requiem, which memorializes the dead with its haunting Dies Irae, the mass celebrates the living liturgy, balancing solemnity with moments of radiant transcendence. Its scope ranges from intimate a cappella settings by ensembles like The Tallis Scholars to full orchestral spectacles demanding choirs, soloists, and symphonic forces.
Central European traditions—particularly Czech and Slovak—have enriched the form with folk-inflected melodicism and national character, as heard in Ryba's pastoral Czech Christmas Mass or Zelenka's intricate Baroque counterpoint. While baroque masses often emphasize contrapuntal virtuosity and classical masses pursue structural clarity, later interpretations explore harmonic experimentation and theatrical drama, bridging sacred ritual and concert hall. The mass remains a proving ground for composers, demanding both devotional reverence and architectural mastery.
Listen to experience humanity's most enduring dialogue between the divine and the musical, where centuries of faith, artistry, and innovation converge in a single, timeless framework.
Click column headers to sort
List updated:
| #6 | ByFranz Schubert | Released:1956-09 | mass | ||
| #12 | ByGuillaume Dufay | Released:1965 | |||
| #37 | ByDeller Consort | Released:1966-04 | |||
| #3 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:1966 | classicalmass | ||
| #14 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:1966 | classicalmass | ||
| #35 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:1967-11-15 | |||
| #86 | ByJosé Joaquim Emérico Lôbo de Mesquita | Released:1967 | mass | ||
| #79 | ByChoir of St. Mary's Cathedral | Released:1968-03 | massrequiem | ||
| #13 | ByWolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Released:1968 | classicalmass | ||
| #42 | ByAntonín Dvořák | Released:1971 | |||
| #18 | ByFrancois-Joseph Gossec | Released:1975 | masssymphony | ||
| #15 | ByAntonín Dvořák | Released:1976 | |||
| #51 | ByJohn Michael Talbot | Released:1976 | mass | ||
| #26 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:1977 | |||
| #8 | ByGuillaume de Machaut | Released:1979 | mass | ||
| #84 | ByCollegium Instrumentale Brugense | Released:1980 | |||
| #5 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:1981 | mass | ||
| #34 | ByFrançois Couperin | Released:1981 | |||
| #69 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:1983 | |||
| #64 | ByAndrew Parrott/Emma Kirkby/Emily Van Evera/Panito Iconomou/Rogers Covey-Crump/David Thomas/Christian Immler/Michael Kilian/Taverner Consort/Taverner Players | Released:1985 | baroquemass | ||
| #22 | ByGiacomo Puccini | Released:1987 | mass | ||
| #39 | ByHilliard Ensemble/Paul Hillier | Released:1988-01 | |||
| #41 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:1988 | mass | ||
| #43 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:1988 | |||
| #48 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:1988 | |||
| #57 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:1988 | mass | ||
| #68 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:1988 | mass | ||
| #1 | BySlovak Philharmonic | Released:1991 | |||
| #30 | ByThe Hilliard Ensemble | Released:1992 | classicalmass | ||
| #67 | ByAdam Michna z Otradovic | Released:1992 | |||
| #91 | ByAdam Michna z Otradovic | Released:1992 | |||
| #87 | BySchola Discantus | Released:1992 | mass | ||
| #80 | ByJakub Jan Ryba | Released:1993-01-01 | choralmass | ||
| #20 | ByLeoš Janáček | Released:1994 | |||
| #77 | ByChoir Of St. John's College, Cambridge | Released:1994 | |||
| #78 | ByJan Dismas Zelenka | Released:1994 | |||
| #85 | ByThe Sixteen / Harry Christophers | Released:1994 | mass | ||
| #29 | ByChoir of King's College, Cambridge/Stephen Cleobury/Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Riccardo Muti | Released:1995 | mass | ||
| #49 | BySir Neville Marriner/Staatskapelle Dresden | Released:1995 | mass | ||
| #61 | ByClaudio Merulo | Released:1995 | mass | ||
| #96 | ByCapella Cordina, Alejandro Planchart | Released:1995 | mass | ||
| #72 | BySchola Gregoriana Pragensis | Released:1996-01-01 | mass | ||
| #92 | ByCapella Alamire | Released:1996-01-01 | massclassical | ||
| #28 | ByAnonymous 4 | Released:1996-02-26 | |||
| #100 | BySchola Discantus | Released:1996-09-24 | mass | ||
| #81 | ByJohann Baptist Vanhal | Released:1996 | classicalmass | ||
| #56 | ByVancouver Cantata Singers, James Fankhauser | Released:1997 | mass | ||
| #74 | BySchola Discantus | Released:1997 | mass | ||
| #25 | ByHaydn Society Chorus | Released:1998-01-01 | mass | ||
| #58 | ByVarious Artists | Released:1998-07 | mass | ||
| #23 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:1998 | baroquemass | ||
| #21 | ByRalph Vaughan Williams | Released:1998 | mass | ||
| #75 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:1999 | |||
| #10 | ByGiovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | Released:2000 | mass | ||
| #44 | ByAghiatrias | Released:2000 | |||
| #76 | ByPierre de La Rue | Released:2000 | classicalmass | ||
| #36 | ByGächinger Kantorei | Released:2001 | mass | ||
| #89 | ByThe Priests | Released:2001 | |||
| #54 | ByVictoria Musicae | Released:2002-01-01 | |||
| #82 | ByCoro e Orchestra dell'Accademia Stefano Tempia | Released:2002 | mass | ||
| #17 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:2003 | |||
| #60 | ByLennox Berkeley | Released:2003 | mass | ||
| #55 | ByGunnar Svensson | Released:2004-01-01 | mass | ||
| #99 | ByEscolanía del Escorial & Lorenzo Ramos | Released:2004-01-01 | massrequiem | ||
| #38 | ByJohann Nepomuk Hummel | Released:2004 | mass | ||
| #94 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:2005-03-01 | mass | ||
| #24 | ByThomas Tallis | Released:2005-06 | classicalmass | ||
| #7 | ByArvo Pärt | Released:2005 | |||
| #16 | ByEnsemble Gilles Binchois | Released:2005 | mass | ||
| #71 | ByBohuslav Martinů | Released:2005 | |||
| #45 | ByThe Tallis Scholars | Released:2006-04-11 | mass | ||
| #52 | ByMagnificat | Released:2006-06-06 | mass | ||
| #40 | ByJakub Jan Ryba | Released:2006-10-27 | |||
| #88 | ByJakub Jan Ryba | Released:2006-10-27 | |||
| #19 | ByVarious Artists | Released:2006 | massclassical | ||
| #66 | ByThe Harp Consort / Andrew Lawrence-King | Released:2006 | |||
| #32 | ByThe Sixteen/Harry Christophers | Released:2007 | mass | ||
| #11 | ByThe Priests | Released:2008-11-24 | choralmass | ||
| #50 | ByThe Priests | Released:2009-11-23 | |||
| #95 | ByNew York's Ensemble for Early Music/Early Music New York | Released:2010-01-15 | mass | ||
| #33 | ByThe Priests | Released:2010-11-02 | |||
| #27 | ByGilles Mathieu | Released:2010 | |||
| #2 | ByAmenra | Released:2012-11-26 | |||
| #31 | ByKarel Ančerl | Released:2013 | classicalmass | ||
| #93 | ByVienna Vocal Consort | Released:2013 | mass | ||
| #46 | ByJohann Sebastian Bach | Released:2014 | mass | ||
| #83 | ByFranz Joseph Haydn | Released:2015 | mass | ||
| #47 | ByJan Dismas Zelenka | Released:2016-03-04 | |||
| #59 | ByJan Dismas Zelenka | Released:2016-03-04 | |||
| #70 | ByThe Priests | Released:2018-11-09 | |||
| #9 | ByJohannes Ockeghem | Released:2020-12 | |||
| #4 | ByProbandi Benedittini di San Giovanni in Parma | Released: | mass | ||
| #53 | ByHaydn Society Chorus and Orchestra | Released: | mass | ||
| #65 | ByKyiv Chamber Choir | Released: | mass | ||
| #62 | ByGounod par Igor Markevitch | Released: | mass | ||
| #63 | Bymarian Wielkopolski | Released: | |||
| #73 | ByPaul Hillier and the Pro Arte Singers | Released: | classicalmass | ||
| #90 | ByJosquin des Prez | Released: | massrequiem | ||
| #97 | ByLos Kusis de Bolivia | Released: | folkmass | ||
| #98 | ByWilli Stein, Thomas Pfeiffer, Members of SWR Symphony Orchestra, Kantorei Maulbronn | Released: | mass |