Misang Walang Salita (Mass Without Words) Music is inherently an aural experience, while faith rests on non-material and not necessarily rational beliefs. More often than not, beliefs regarding music and faith are difficult to discuss due to their respective ontologies. Both the practice of faith and the experience of music depend upon individual subjectivity and more broadly shared beliefs; both involve the coming together of individuals for communal practice and experience. Intrinsic to faith and music are belief systems that range from being individually held to being institutionally and communally maintained. It is the tension between these two polarities and the variety of beliefs within the continuum they form that I seek to examine in writing Misang Walang Salita (Mass Without Words). Composed as the principal component of my project for the Penn Humanities Forum, this work is designed to challenge listeners and performers to revisit their own perspectives and beliefs regarding the interaction between faith and music.

Misang Walang Salita employs a variety of compositional techniques (as in Misa). These techniques will range from the conventionally notated music, to experimental approaches, which include for example, allowing performers to individually determine one or more parameters of the music (such as pitch, duration, dynamic level). These compositional approaches suggest a conversation among the diversity of ways of making music. This musical conversation will be echoed and intensified by the number of different performance methods that the players will employ, ranging from conventional (that is, playing on the keyboard) to extended techniques (such as playing on the strings and wood of the piano, and atypical use of the pedals). This gestural repertoire then is augmented by the use of electronics (amplification, reverberation, and delay) that serves to enrich and complicate the sound realm of the work. The piece is cast within a multi-movement work structured as a ritual, consisting of 5 sections which can be equated to a musical setting of the Mass Ordinary.

I. Litania: Paghingi ng Kapatawaran (Litany: Asking for Forgiveness; Kyrie)
II. Imno: Pag-alay ng Papuri (Hymn: Offering Praise; Gloria)
III. Pagpahayag ng Pananampalataya (Proclamation of Faith; Credo)
IV. Aklamasyon: Awit ng Pagkakaisa (Acclamation: Song of Unity; Sanctus)
V. Litania: Pagpapatawad ng Mga Kasalanan (Litany: the Forgiveness of Sins; Agnus Dei)

Since this work is not intended to be liturgical music (to be used in an actual religious service), a primary and significant challenge was how to convey notions of faith and spirituality. The structure of the composition, following the ritual of the Roman Catholic Mass (with its attendant historical meanings and connotations), begins to meet this challenge. Beyond this overt reference to the Catholic Rite and with the absence of religious text, the principal purveyors of sacral intent are the musical gestures themselves. Each of these gestures has the potential for multiple meanings, while avoiding the implication that each aural and performance gesture correlates to a singularly specific meaning via a symbolic relationship. These gestures are complemented by a range of symbolic and musical references that commonly hold sacred associations within Christian as well as other religious traditions: numerology, chant, and the ringing of bells. Simultaneously, subtle and overt references to musics of the past (both distant and near) connect the work to the repertoire of sacred music. By aurally suggesting and referencing sacred and spiritual notions and practices through musical means, Mass Without Words becomes a catalyst for the critical reconsideration of individually held as well as communally maintained beliefs on the dynamic and synergistic relationship between music and faith.

View Summary of Each Movement