Berliner Messe

Arvo Pärt composed this Mass for the 750th anniversary of Berlin, setting the Latin Ordinary - Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei - in his spare tintinnabuli style, grounding each movement in the simplest biblical declarations. The Credo's musical setting of John 1:14 ('And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us') creates a moment of near-stasis, as if the musical fabric holds its breath at the Incarnation. The Agnus Dei draws from John 1:29 ('Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world'), giving the final petition a profound simplicity. The Mass is among Pärt's most widely performed sacred works.