# Favorite Sacred Work Ever?



## Tré

It can be anything: cantata, missa, chorale...anything sacred.

I'm going to say Bach's "Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben" (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, BWV
147).


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## Astus

Talk about hard to answer! Sacred music is surely some of the most beautiful ever written - I think it is an amazing thing to listen to a piece of music inspired by a person's faith. Even as an atheist, I love sacred music more than most other musical types! But picking a fave piece is a toughy... 

From a performance perspective, I do find "Let the Bright Seraphim" by Handel most enjoyable to sing, and for its sheer beauty, "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth". It's hard to beat Messiah  Love it to death. Also from Messiah, the amazing "Why Do the Nations", especially sung by James Milligan on the recording by Sargent with the RLP. Magical!

For pure listening pleasure, the majesty and power of Tallis' "Spem in Alium" is something to behold. Off topic, wouldn't it be awesome to assemble a "Dream Choir" of the 40 best Renaissance voices currently performing, to do a special performance of this work?


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## david johnson

probably some william billings or 'amazing grace'.
i prefer it simple.

dj


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## Tré

*!!!*



Astus said:


> ...wouldn't it be awesome to assemble a "Dream Choir" of the 40 best Renaissance voices currently performing, to do a special performance of this work?


Yes. Yes it would. Let's do it!


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## Ephemerid

Stravinsky's *Symphony of Psalms*.

~josh


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## Krummhorn

John Rutter's _Requiem_ and _Te Deum_


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## Tré

Marvelous! I love all of those. As a Catholic, it's interesting because many of these songs are liturgical works that I hear on a regular - or semi-regular - basis.


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## Ephemerid

Just a few other sacred works that come to mind as personal favourites, just some odds & ends:

Kedrov's deeply moving setting of the *Our Father*

The *Pie Jesu *from Faure's Requiem (the whole thing is wonderful, but the Pie Jesu especially)

*Ubi Caritas *by Durufle (which is really an interesting harmonisation of an old plainchant)

*The Call * from Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs (which I sang back in my music school days)

Stravinsky's *Mass *

Arvo Part's *Berliner messe* (especially the Sanctus & Agnus Dei)

The very end of Bernstein's *Mass * and the *"Simple Song"* also (this isn't really a mass, but sort of a musical _about _a mass-- I remember the shock when I first heard the Kyrie with marching band and kazoos! I originally thought it was supposed to be an actual mass & I thought it was awful! LOL It is a somewhat dated work now, but I still rather like it, perhaps more for sentimental reasons now)

~josh


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## Kurkikohtaus

Sacred work?

_Sacre du Printemps_.

ROFL


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## 4/4player

Kurkikohtaus said:


> Sacred work?
> 
> _Sacre du Printemps_.
> 
> ROFL


*LOL*

Are you serious, Maestro Rohac?

Keeping Beat,
4/4player


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## Tré

HAHA



Sacre du Printemps; not quite the sacred work I was looking for


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## hawk

> Ubi Caritas by Durufle (which is really an interesting harmonisation of an old plainchant)


I have a recording of music by Hildgard von Bingen. I believe this is on it. Her music is extraordinary!!


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## shorteybear

brittney spears "oops I did it again".... oh wait no!  oh yeah yeah, thats corect...


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## World Violist

Brahms, A German Requiem. Need I say any more?


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## Erik Helm

Very difficult to narrow down;
Here are some favorite suggestions,

Allegri, Miserere
Palestrina, Missa Benedicta es
Biber, Missa christi resurgentis
Faure', Requiem
Bach, Magnificat
Bach, Mass in B-Minor (the other masses are good too)
Vivaldi, Gloria
Vivaldi, Nulla in mundo pax sincera
Rachmaninoff, Sacred Vespers


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## Ephemerid

I'm only just beginning to really appreciate Bach's B minor mass... wow...

~josh


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## BuddhaBandit

The B minor is truly great... but my favorite mass/requiem would have to be either Fauré's _Requiem_ or Beethoven's _Missa Solemnis_. They're polar opposites in terms of style but both are very moving.


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## Celloman

The Dream of Gerontius by Elgar

Listen to the Barbirolli recording with the Halle Orchestra on the EMI label. Janet Baker has the voice of an angel!


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## alan sheffield

*War Requiem*

Britten's War Requiem easily tops my list. Its mixture of the Requiem and Wilfred Owen's poems makes it a very challenging work. It's just a pity that its message is ignored by most of us.


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## CHasR

Der Gott Abrahams; Heinrich Schutz
followed closely by
Praetorius Mass for Christmas Morning
followed closely by
Bach B Minor Mass
followed closely by
Dona Nobis Pacem; R Vaughan-Williams
*list subject to change*


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## Drowning_by_numbers

This is an incredibly hard question to answer! I would have to say these few are probably top of my list:
Britten - A ceremony of carols
Britten - Rejoice in the lamb
Tallis - Spem in alium
Byrd - Mass in four voices, in particular the Sanctus. (though three and five are also wonderful!)
O Magnum Mysterium - Laudison
God is with us -Tavener
Britten -Hymn to the virgin
Allegri -Miserere
Bethelem Down - Warlock is a really nice simple song with some really nice harmonies
Lux Aeterna -Ligeti is an amazing piece.
There would definately be some Howells and Vaughan Williams in there somewhere.. 
Nearly everything Poulenc ever wrote..
Arvo Part summa for choir

Ubi Caritas is a great piece.. used to sing it with my choir. Funny the things you forget!

Does anyone know Bairstow's arrangement of the Lamentations of Jeramiah?? It's a really beautiful piece, quite easy-going as well. I woul recommend it.

There are many more I will remember and add in time I am sure!


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## Drowning_by_numbers

And War requiem of course! I just couldn't survive without Britten!


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## Justin

Erik Helm said:


> Very difficult to narrow down;
> Here are some favorite suggestions,
> 
> Allegri, Miserere
> Palestrina, Missa Benedicta es
> Biber, Missa christi resurgentis
> Faure', Requiem
> Bach, Magnificat
> Bach, Mass in B-Minor (the other masses are good too)
> Vivaldi, Gloria
> Vivaldi, Nulla in mundo pax sincera
> Rachmaninoff, Sacred Vespers


Erik, have just joined and simply had to tip my virtual hat to you - I love all of those you've listed. The Biber especially and Vivaldi's sacred music moves me almost more than any other. His Dixit Dominus (RV594) is one of my all time favourites. The 'Sicut Erat in Principio' is just so beautiful. Here's a link to it on youtube (now no snobbishness please - youtube can be a good way of exploring music I've found to check you are going to like something before you buy it!) And this recording of this movement is actually really very good. Have a listen


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## Marshall

I don't think you can break it down to a single work, because sacred music varys so much over the ages, just like all other music.

That being said, the ones that come off the top of my head are the Pope Marcellus Mass and the Verdi Requiem. Mozart's Mass in C Minor and Requiem both come to mind as well.

I don't know if I can include Symphony of Psalms...but I will because it is technically sacred.

I guess I don't much care for oratorios and cantatas.


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## World Violist

Mahler's second could be sacred, right? Das Lied, maybe?

If not, then German Requiem still stands at the top of my list as a woeful testament to my inadequacy in the realm of sacred music.


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## Moldyoldie

_Mass in G Minor_ by Vaughan Williams is probably my favorite. I also enjoy Handel's _Messiah_, but _in toto_ only once a year or so. Rachmaninov's _Vespers_ is another occasional favorite as well as _A Feather on the Breath of God_ by Abbess Hildegard von Bingen.

I've never been enthralled, captivated, or in any way entranced by the lengthy masses and requiems of Verdi, Bach, Bruckner, Brahms, Mozart, and Beethoven.


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## Methodistgirl

My most would have to be How Great Thou Art. I don't remember the composer
right now. I consider this the anthem of all gospel music that honors God.
judy tooley


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## davidiles

I am definitely not decisive enough to pick one and there are few pieces on these posts that are new to me and I am definitely going check out.

But, I can't believe that Pergolesi Stabat Mater has not appeared anywhere yet!

I went to Ireland for Christmas and listened to it constantly for a week! did wonders in all the wind and rain!


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## Conductor

_If Ye Love Me_ by Thomas Tallis would have to be my fave.


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## Conductor

My area's classical music station used to have a block of sacred music every Sunday morning from 7 A.M. to 10 A.M. They called it _Sacred Classics_ until they merged with a classical music station in Colorado last week, so they canceled it.

I love sacred music. It's simply one of the most beautiful styles of music, IMHO.


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## BAWIG05

Bruckner's A Capella settings of the "Ave Maria" are lovely


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## World Violist

Osmo Vanska says Sibelius' Seventh is a sacred work!


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## kiwipolish

Definitely the Salve Regina sung by Benedictine and Cistercian monks at the Compline office. Being there live is a must!


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## SamGuss

The girlfriend got Vivaldi's "Gloria" the other day. GREAT stuff IMO and from someone not overly fond of choral music yet - but this one got my attention pretty well.


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## Conductor

Oh! I forgot all about Bruckner's _Ave Maria_! I love it too.


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## woodwind_fan

I absolutely love Walton's 'Belshazzar's Feast'. I may be slightly biased though, given that I have played it!


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## periodinstrumentfan

i like Pompous Baroque Mass ... :->

1. Dietrich Buxtehude - Cantata "Jesu, Meines Lebens Leben" 




2. Muffat - Missa in Labore Requies - Gloria 




3. Biber - Missa Christi Resurgentis - Gloria 




4. Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber - "Missa Salisburgensis" - Kyrie (for 52 voices) 




:->


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## Zombo

St. Luke Passion by Penderecki.


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## Lang

Messiaen - Trois Petites Liturgies.


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## Atabey

I would say Verdi's Messa da Requiem but it is too secular to be a good mass.Its impact is unrivalled but when it comes to spirituality definitely Bach's B minor Mass.


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## arathornion

Vittoria's O Magnum Mysterium
Louis Veirne's Messe Solennelle
Pretty much anything Vittoria or Palestrina
Haydn's Missa in Augustiis
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis


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## Kuhlau

Based on the number of times I've heard it (countless), the number of recordings I have of it (above two dozen), and the fact that it's my favourite work in the entire Western Art Music canon, Rachmaninov's All-night Vigil (a.ka. Vespers) must be my favourite.

I'm also rather partial to Brahms' A German Requiem (20 recordings in my library), Faure's Requiem (eight recordings, at least), Mozart's Requiem (about the same number as the Faure), and almost every Renaissance work I've ever heard.

FK


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## World Violist

I know I might be stretching it a bit... but could not Mahler's Eighth seriously be considered sacred? It's certainly as uplifting as any other I've heard... though you can't beat the B minor Mass.


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## opus67

World Violist said:


> I know I might be stretching it a bit... but could not Mahler's Eighth seriously be considered sacred? It's certainly as uplifting as any other I've heard...


I have trouble calling it a symphony! I watched clips of the first part on YouTube, and if I hadn't been told what is was before, I would have thought that it was a sacred choral work.


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## Alnitak

Telemann: Die Auferstehung (The Resurrection)


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## Moldyoldie

Vaughan Williams - _Mass in G Minor_

Rachmaninov - _Vespers_


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## FlyMe

Surely Handle's Messiah.

Problem with it is we know it too well - in a way it is just too perfect!

So perhaps I would go for Pergolesi Stabat Mater which ha also been suggested earlier.


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## SenorTearduct

My goodness people, I cannot believe all of you have commented this far and not have mentioned Mozart's Requieum in D Minor... The Introit is the greatest. And no one has mentionedMiserere Mei, Deus by Allegri.. By far number one and two on my list...


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## SenorTearduct

except for drowning by nembers


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## Somnifer

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Mozart's Requiem, Bach's Mass in B Minor and Brahms' German Requiem.


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## andruini

Definitely Bach's B Minor Mass, Fauré's Requiem, Tallis' Spem in Alium and the Salvator Mundi settings, Brahms' German Requiem, Bruckner's Motets (all of them), Nielsen's Three Motetes, Dvorák's Requiem and Stabat Mater, and Poulenc's Gloria.


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## Somnifer

Forgot Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Phenomenal work.


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## Bach

> Rachmaninoff, Sacred Vespers


1000 yeses.

However, as a great lover of sacred music, I have some other less familiar suggestions.

Hristic's Requiem
Chesnokov's 2nd Requiem
Arvo Part's Stabat Mater

Look at various other sacred works by Part and Chesnokov. They're all profoundly beautiful and very moving.


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## Mirror Image

Bach said:


> 1000 yeses.
> 
> However, as a great lover of sacred music, I have some other less familiar suggestions.
> 
> Hristic's Requiem
> Chesnokov's 2nd Requiem
> Arvo Part's Stabat Mater
> 
> Look at various other sacred works by Part and Chesnokov. They're all profoundly beautiful and very moving.


You like Arvo Part, Bach? You were protesting against him months ago. Did you have a change of heart?


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## SenorTearduct

Missa Brevis in Eb Minor by McCade Smith


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## Bach

Mirror Image said:


> You like Arvo Part, Bach? You were protesting against him months ago. Did you have a change of heart?


his instrumental music is throw away, but his choral music is exceptional.


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## SenorTearduct

hahaha has no one ever heard of the mass i mentioned?


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## Bach

SenorTearduct said:


> Missa Brevis in Eb Minor by McCade Smith


Tell me about McCade Smith - it's you, isn't it?


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## Sorin Eushayson

Verily, verily I say unto thee, Mozart's Requiem is my favourite sacred work ever!


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## Mirror Image

Bach said:


> his instrumental music is throw away, but his choral music is exceptional.


Yeah, anybody who composes in a Minimal style is pretty much a throw away to me. I hate that go nowhere garbage.


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## SenorTearduct

Oh darn u caught me  I gave it away with the silly repetitive comment


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## haydnguy

Brahms' German Requiem.


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## Gangsta Tweety Bird

my favorite is messiaen's o sacrum convivium


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## Bach

Mm, certainly agree with that nomination - beautiful - those sub 6 chords are his and his alone.


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## mueske

Rachmaninoff's Vespers!


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## tahnak

*Favourite Sacred Work*

Berlioz's Requiem - Grande Messe des Morts
followed by
Johannes Brahms' Ein Deutches Requiem


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## Conor71

Rachmaninov: Vespers


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## Bach

Can people suggest some more interesting works too?


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## StlukesguildOhio

Any number of Bach's cantatas as well as the obvious _St. Matthew Passion_
_Sibila Galaica_- anon. 12th c. Spain
Monteverdi- _Venetian Vespers_
Mozart- _Mass in C, Requiem_
Haydn- _Creation, The Seven Last Words_
Beethoven-_Missa Solemnis_
Brahms- _Deutsches Requiem_
Faure- _Requiem_
Howells-_Hymnus Paradisi, Missa Sabrinensis_
Handel- _Messiah_
Szymanowski- _Stabat Mater_
Rachmaninoff- _Vespers_ and almost any other choral work
Grechaninov- _Passion Week_
Elgar- _Dream of Gerontius, The Kingdom, The Apostles_
Bruckner- _Masses_
Messaien- _The Transfiguration_

Just a few... doesn't even begin to catch all my "favorites".


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## StlukesguildOhio

Can people suggest some more interesting works too?

Bach's _St. Matthew Passion_ isn't "interesting"?

Or do you simply mean "obscure"... ?


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## Bach

Yes, obscure.. nobody wants to hear about the German Requiem for the Nth time..


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## Bach

The Grechaninov is an excellent suggestion.


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## Mirror Image

Bach said:


> The Grechaninov is an excellent suggestion.


Grechaninov was one of the great Russian choral composers of his time. Even I have a copy of "Passion Week."


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## Mirror Image

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Szymanowski- _Stabat Mater_


Great piece of music right there. No doubt about it.


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## Bach

Mirror Image said:


> Grechaninov was one of the great Russian choral composers of his time. Even I have a copy of "Passion Week."


Beautiful piece, wouldn't you say?


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## Mirror Image

Bach said:


> Beautiful piece, wouldn't you say?


For a strictly choral work, it's beautiful. I need to explore more of Grechaninov's work.


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## Fergus

Novus Magnificat by Constance Demby
Gloria by Vivaldi
O Virga ac Diadema by Hildegard von Bingen


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## JAKE WYB

World Violist said:


> Brahms, A German Requiem. Need I say any more?


no you needent - brahms was of an athiest and the rrequiem is largely a secular piece which makes it specially sacred to everybody - makes me warm and happy with the world every time


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## Il Seraglio

Lizst's Via Crucis and Bach's Mass in B Minor


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## dmg

Mozart's Vesperae solennes de confessore.


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## emiellucifuge

Im Gonna have to say Dvorak's Stabat Mater

In the late 1870s All three of his children died in quick succession. One as a small baby, The other died from phosphorus poisoning and his oldest son (3 yrs) died of small pox. 

This left him with a grief one can only imagine, the Stabat mater was a means for him to cope with the grief.

Hardly surprising then that listening to the piece inspires the most solemn of moods and it is so full of sadness and torment. It does, however come to a beautiful ending as his personal journey comes to acceptance of the deaths of his children.

His use of the words is unusual, he repeats phrases over and over, giving them a second importance. The focus is instead placed on the sadness inherent in the music. Descending chromaticism that doesnt resolve but goes diminished IIs are example of the genius that creates the sorrow here.


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## tahnak

JAKE WYB said:


> no you needent - brahms was of an athiest and the rrequiem is largely a secular piece which makes it specially sacred to everybody - makes me warm and happy with the world every time


Yes it is a German Requiem and slotted as secular; yet it is a magnificent work written with deep feelings, on a higher level than Beethoven's Missa Solemnis or Mozart's Requiem but under Handel's Messiah and Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts Requiem.


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## Bach

tahnak said:


> Yes it is a German Requiem and slotted as secular; yet it is a magnificent work written with deep feelings, on a higher level than Beethoven's Missa Solemnis or Mozart's Requiem but under Handel's Messiah and Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts Requiem.


Are you a joker? You think that Berlioz's wretched requiem is 'on a higher level' than Beethoven's Missa Solemnis? Are you deaf or just thick?


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## chillowack

_Laudate Dominum_, by Mozart.


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## Lukecash12

In my opinion, He Was Despised (Handel's Messiah), is my most preferred sacred work.


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## vasysm

No love for Mozart's delightful "Exultate, Jubilate"?


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## Sonata

Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine. It's unusual that I make this pick, because otherwise, I've been drawn to very little from such early music. But the Vespers have touched me so surprisingly in a way that Mozart's and Brahm's Requiem's, or the Messiah have not. (Which is not to say that I don't enjoy those pieces).


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## Polyphemus

Impossible to answer definitively, but one of my favourite pieces is

Schumann - Requiem For Mignon


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## Oneiroi

Great mentions so far, but my favorite of all still hasn't been listed: Duruflé's Requiem. Almost all of the movements are based on plain-chants and he does something truly wonderful with them. Believe it or not, I even prefer the Duruflé "In Paradisum" than Fauré's.

Also, this movement from Bach's 4th Cantata is a wonder:


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## SixFootScowl

Handel's Messiah is my favorite, although I have not heard a lot of other sacred works. I do like Beethoven's Missa Solemnis very much too.


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## MilanStevanovich




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## NightHawk

Hildegard is a great treasure of the Western Canon, religious or otherwise.



hawk said:


> I have a recording of music by Hildgard von Bingen. I believe this is on it. Her music is extraordinary!!


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## opus55

Bach's Magnificat has some _painfully_ beautiful melodies for voice.


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## Art Rock

Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, just ahead of Brahms' German Requiem and Faure's Requiem.


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## Klavierspieler

Tallis - Lamentations of Jeremiah (both)


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## maxshrek

Bach Mattheus Passion by far.


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## NightHawk

I have a friend who has been so obsessed with that work (and for many years) that I can barely stand to hear it, yet I know it is a great work. It's not from hearing it that gives me the rash, it's the hearing 'about' it.



World Violist said:


> Brahms, A German Requiem. Need I say any more?


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## TxllxT

Vivaldi's Juditha Triumphans










or


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## jalex

Not much to choose between Monteverdi's Vespers, Bach's two Passions (St John is pretty underrated I think) and B minor Mass, Handel's _Messiah_ and _Samson_, Mozart's Requiem, Haydn's Missa in Anguistiis and Creation, and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. I'd go for the Beethoven if forced to pick.

Just behind these are Bach's Magnificat and miscellaneous cantatas, a few more Handel oratorios, the rest of Haydn's late masses along with his Seven Last Words (all three versions), Berlioz's Requiem, Brahms' German Requiem, Faure's Requiem and Messiaen's _La Transfiguration_.


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## NightHawk

*Josquin* - Missa Hercule, Dux Ferrariae - *GGabrieli* 'in ecclesias' - *Bach* - Mass in B minor - *Beethoven* - Missa Solemnis - *Stravinsky* - Symphony of Psalms



Tré said:


> It can be anything: cantata, missa, chorale...anything sacred.
> 
> I'm going to say Bach's "Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben" (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, BWV
> 147).


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## TrazomGangflow

My top ten favorite sacred works are all Bach. His pieces perfectly embody holy music. My favorite sacred work would be Magnificat followed closely by Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben.


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## jalex

NightHawk said:


> *Stravinsky* - Symphony of Psalms


Forgot this, it's another of my absolute favourites.


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## CameraEye

_The Passion according to St. Matthew_ by Bach is one of my favourite sacred works


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## tannhaeuser

A soft spot for me, Bach's Christ lag in Todesbanden


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## tannhaeuser

woodwind_fan said:


> I absolutely love Walton's 'Belshazzar's Feast'. I may be slightly biased though, given that I have played it!


I sung it!


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## tahnak

Hector Berlioz's Messa da Requiem.


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## Muddy

Somnifer said:


> Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Mozart's Requiem, Bach's Mass in B Minor and Brahms' German Requiem.


Wow, the perfect answer. Someone's been reading my mind. Get out of there!!


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## Sonata

I need to update my previous response from Monteverdi's Vespers as I was new to the genre of sacred music. Now it is easily Brahm's German Requiem.


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## tgtr0660

J.S. Bach's St Mattthew Passion.


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## Prodromides

"Le Miroir de Jesus" by Andre Caplet is a unique work which captures an essence of religious spirituality and communicates such via austere beauty and innovation.

Written by Caplet in the early 1920s, "Le Miroir de Jesus" is the first composition that I'm aware of (and possibly still remains the _only_ concert piece) whose musical "form" was based upon the structure of the Rosary, with each musical "movement" corresponding to a Rosary bead. This produces a "stations of the Cross" of sorts that's told aurally via a sequence of "prayers" sung by 4 female soloists accompanied by string quartet, harp, & double-bass.

An orchestral version of "Le Miroir de Jesus" also exists, which substitutes the chamber strings with a full string orchestra.

Whichever version one listens to, "Le Miroir de Jesus" is a sublime opus which does not shy away from the suffering within the Passion and book-ends such with passages of joyous rapture.

[Having said all this, I also love Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater... ]


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## Roi N

Haydn, Haydn, Haydn!!! His sacred music is phenomenal! Each one of the last six masses is a masterpeice. I would say that that the Harmoniemesse, Heiligsmesse and Missa in Angustiis are his finest (in that order probably). Other than that, his creation is astounding - especially the part with the sunrise (an absolute must if you've never heard it before) as well as "in the beginning".
Other than Haydn, I think Handel is great too. his Messiah (of course) and Israel in Egypt are truly great. Israel in Egypt has some fine choruses with excellent fugues. And his protrayal of the plagues of Egypt are not to be missed.
Oh, almost forgot Bach. Mass in B minor. The famous Cantata BWV 147. And his little chorals (there are many of them, and almost all are beautiful).
So yeah, those are the three greats - Haydn, Handel, Bach.


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## Cosmos

Of the sacred works I know, I think I adore Rachmaninov's All Night Vigil the most. I consider it his masterpiece, and the most other-worldly of the sacred works. This work actually helps articulate a definition of "sacred"


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## PetrB

Igor Stravinsky:
Mass








Threni: id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae 





Robert Moran ~ Requiem: Chant du Cygne (texts far from sacred, while the effect of the piece...)

Ketjak - The Ramayan Monkey Chant


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## Guest

Some tempting choices:
Bach: Cantata No. 140
Mozart: Great Mass
Faure: Requiem
Bruckner: Mass No. 3
Szymanowski: Stabat Mater
Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles
Martin: Mass For Double Choir
etc....

But right now, it has to be Monteverdi's Vespers.


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## Woodduck

Prodromides said:


> "Le Miroir de Jesus" by Andre Caplet is a unique work which captures an essence of religious spirituality and communicates such via austere beauty and innovation.


Wonderful suggestion! Caplet is an interesting composer whose output was small, and from what I've been able to find and listen to this is his masterpiece.


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## Morimur

J.S. Bach: Matthäus-Passion BWV 244
Olivier Messiaen: Saint François d'Assise
Arnold Schoenberg: Moses und Aron
K. Stockhausen: Licht (The Seven Days of the Week)


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## PetrB

Karlheinz Stockhausen ~ _Gesang der Jünglinge_.

_from Wikipedia_:
"History

In the Autumn of 1954, Stockhausen conceived the idea of composing a mass for electronic sounds and voices. According to his official biographer, Stockhausen regarded this mass as a sacred work written from personal conviction, and asked his mentor, the director of the WDR electronic studio Herbert Eimert, to write to the Cologne archbishop's Diocesan office for permission to have the work performed in the Cologne Cathedral. Stockhausen was bitterly disappointed when the request was refused on grounds that loudspeakers had no place in church."


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## DeepR

I know very little but I like parts from Mozart - Requiem, Handel's Messiah and Rachmaninoff's Liturgy of St. John Crysostom and Vespers.

Rachmaninoff - Our Father




Rachmaninoff - Ave Maria


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## Xaltotun

Oh, I cannot possibly make a choice here, too many favourites and great compositions. But I can list some of the more likely candidates:

Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli
Victoria: Requiem
Couperin: Lecons de Tenebres
Bach: Mass in B minor
Haydn: Die Schöpfung, Missa in Angustiis
Mozart: Requiem, Mass in C
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
Schubert: Masses n 5 and 6
Mendelssohn: Elias, Paulus
Berlioz: Requiem, Te Deum
Liszt: Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth, Christus, Via Crucis
Dvorak: Stabat Mater, Requiem, Svata Ludmila, Te Deum
Franck: Les Beatitudes
Bruckner: Mass n 3, Te Deum
Verdi: Requiem
Rachmaninov: Vespers
Braunfels: Te Deum
Schmidt: Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln

No Händel, though. This composer remains incomprehensible for me.


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## Bulldog

I'll select based on number of cd's usually required:

1CD - Mozart's Great Mass in C minor
2CD - Bach's Mass in B minor
3CD - Bach's St. Matthew Passion


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## Novelette

A very challenging question, but I'll do my best:

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis in D, Op. 123
Rameau: Quam Dilecta
Victoria: Missa de Beata Maria Virgine
Cherubini: Mass in F, "Di Chimay"
Ockeghem: Missa Prolationum
Mendelssohn: Surrexit Pastor Bonus, Op. 39
Liszt: Christus, S3/R478
Gossec: Grande Messe des Morts
Palestrina: Lamentatio Jeremiae
Cherubini: Credo a 8


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## Winterreisender

Much of my favourite sacred music comes from the baroque or earlier, e.g.:

Machaut - Messe de Notre Dame
Josquin - Missa Pange lingua
Vivaldi - Gloria
Schütz - Musikaische Exequien
Handel - Messiah
Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
Haydn - Nelson Mass
Mendelssohn - Elijah
Faure - Requiem

...and too many pieces by Bach to mention!


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## hpowders

Haydn, The Creation: my kind of spiritual, without being overly religious; just like me.


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## DavidA

hpowders said:


> Haydn, The Creation: my kind of spiritual, without being overly religious; just like me.


Haydn's Creation is a marvel! Just like God's own creation!


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## hpowders

DavidA said:


> Haydn's Creation is a marvel! Just like God's own creation!


It's Haydn at his most inspired, sparkling best!


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## omega

I love Fauré's _Requiem_ and Messiens's _Transfiguration_...
but there's so much more I haven't listened to yet !!


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## Bas

Bach's Matthaus Passion, Bachs cantatas BWV 105, BWV 86, BWV 21, BWV 132, Hohe Messe!


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## jdec

Mozart's Great Mass in C minor, and the Requiem.
Beethoven's Missa solemnis
Brahm's German Requiem
Verdi's Requiem
Bach mass in b minor


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## SONNET CLV

I'm testament that one need not be a Believer in order to appreciate sacred music. Bach's _Ich habe genug_, BWV 82, does it for me.


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## science

My favorite is Brahms' German Requiem (if that counts as sacred), and then Bach's mass. 

One of my favorites that no one has heard of and evidently no one will ever hear is Jan Jiràsek's Missa Propria.


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## sharik

*
Grechaninov* - _All Night Vigil_


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## David Phillips

Bach - Christmas Oratorio
Handel - Messiah
Mendelssohn - Elijah
Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius
Elgar - The Kingdom
Holst - The Hymn of Jesus
Holst - Ode to Death
Holst - Psalm 86


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## Pugg

Verdi: Requiem / Karajan · La Scala Orchestra and Chorus of Milan


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## hpowders

Favorite: a composite of all the Haydn Late Masses. Haydn shows that the Mass doesn't have to be a dull, dreary affair.


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## Bettina

I'll do my top five:

1. Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
2. Haydn: The Creation
3. Bach: Mass in B Minor
4. Mozart: Requiem
5. Handel: Messiah


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## hpowders

Bettina said:


> I'll do my top five:
> 
> 1. Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
> 2. Haydn: The Creation
> 3. Bach: Mass in B Minor
> 4. Mozart: Requiem
> 5. Handel: Messiah


Those are all wonderful selections.


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## Pugg

Bettina said:


> I'll do my top five:
> 
> 1. Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
> 2. Haydn: The Creation
> 3. Bach: Mass in B Minor
> 4. Mozart: Requiem
> 5. Handel: Messiah


What......no Verdi requiem


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## bestellen

Hildegard is a great treasure of the Western Canon, religious or otherwise.


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## Tchaikov6

Mozart- Requiem
Bach- Mass in B Minor
Bach- St. John Passion
Bach- Christmas Oratorio
Verdi- Requiem


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## Botschaft

1. Brahms: A German Requiem
2. Bach: St Matthew Passion
3. Bach: Mass in B minor
4. Mozart: Requiem
5. Mozart: Mass in C minor


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## haydnfan

Bach Mass in B Minor
Mozart Requiem
Brahms German Requiem
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
Ligeti Requiem


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## jdec

jdec said:


> Mozart's Great Mass in C minor, and the Requiem.
> Beethoven's Missa solemnis
> Brahm's German Requiem
> Verdi's Requiem
> Bach mass in b minor


More than 2 years later and my above top 6 list has not changed one bit. Cast in stone.


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## Bulldog

I've likely already done this but here's my current list in no particular order:

Bach - Mass in B minor
Bach - St. Matthew Passion
Mozart - Mass in C minor
Haydn - The Creation
Handel - Messiah


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## Williarw

Brahm's requiem is my favorite. I never grow tired of it.


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## Botschaft

Williarw said:


> Brahm's requiem is my favorite. I never grow tired of it.


Good choice! I can respect that.


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## Pugg

Williarw said:


> Brahm's requiem is my favorite. I never grow tired of it.


The male choirs is stunning as is the soprano solo of course.


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## Botschaft

Pugg said:


> The male choirs is stunning as is the soprano solo of course.


How glorious is the sound of impending doom.


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## MusicSybarite

Here is my list:

1-Beethoven - _Missa Solemnis_
2-Janácek - _Glagolská mše_ (Glagolitic Mass)
3-Berlioz - _Grande Messe des Morts_
4-Brahms - _Ein deutsches Requiem_
5-Vaughan Williams - _Dona nobis pacem_
6-Szymanowski - _Stabat Mater_
7-Honegger - _Une cantate de Noël_
8-Bruckner - _Te Deum_
9-Schnittke - _Requiem_
10-Dvorák - _Te Deum_
11-Taneyev - John of Damascus
12-Schmidt - _Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln_
13-Mozart - _Grosse Messe c-moll_
14-Bach - _Magnificat_
15-Haydn - _Missa in tempore belli_


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## Nocture In Blue

If I had to choose just one I would without a doubt say J S Bach's Matthäus-Passion. It might be mankinds greatest achivement.
Just thinking of the opening chorus brings tears to my eyes.


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