Changing musical concepts of the Roman mass from Machaut to the present.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityThe Mass is a solemn and intricate service of the Roman Catholic Rite which commemorates and mystically repeats the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. The Christian Church liturgy evolved from remnants carried over from the Hebrew services of worship plus additions made as the new church grew. The formative period extended to the time of Pope Gregory the first (590-604 A.D.). Gregory is attributed with organizing the early Mass into the form which has remained the accepted one for worship in the Roman Catholic church. He was responsible for gathering together the many chants then in use and for their arrangement into an order suitable for church purposes. Gradually, section by section. the Mass assumed its present proportions and arrangement of Proper and Ordinary. The final section to be added to the Ordinary was the Credo. This was added in the 11th century. Many centuries, peoples, and ideas helped to develop the great service which has remained in the Roman liturgy. [TRUNCATED