Maria Faust
MASS OF MARY
Collegium Musicale & Endrik Üksvärav

The CD released on November 21st/25th, the vinyl LP released on December 10th, 2022.

Last live: June 22nd, 2023 in Triigi Philharmonic, Saaremaa island, Estonia

Estonian Music Awards 2023 − the best record of the year in the category of music composing! Nomination for the Classical Album of the Year.
Carl Prisen 2023 (Denmark) – nominated for  for Mass of Mary in the category of classical composer.

Mass of Mary is dedicated to all victims of domestic violence. This work does not blame or teach and does not propose solutions. Rather, it is a consolation, and is the least that I, as a composer and a human being, can do, and give to society. (Maria Faust)

1 Kyrie eleison  8:21
2 Mother  6:34
3 Gloria  9:58
4 Credo  9:58
5 Child  3:43
6 Sanctus Benedictus  6:53
7 Holy Ghost  4:40
8 Agnus Dei  5:06
9 Finale  2:31

 

#1, Mass of Mary, Kyrie eleison, fragment, mp3, 2 min 51 sec, 320 Kbps

#3, Mass of Mary, Gloria, fragment, mp3, 1 min 59 sec, 320 Kbps

Music composed by Maria Faust
Lyrics – canonical, Karl Ristikivi, Eero Epner, Maria Faust
English translations of lyrics – Doris Kareva

Publisher of the score – Estonian Record Productions
Download a fragment (pages 30–37, Credo) of the score of Mass of Mary
See also Making of... on You Tube

Performed by chamber choir Collegium Musicale, Helina Kuljus (soprano), Lili Kirikal (soprano), Oliver Povel (tenor), Maria Faust (alto saxophone), Kristjan Kungla (bassoon), Indrek Vau (trumpet), Andres Kontus (trombone), conductor – Endrik Üksvärav

Recorded in Arvo Pärt Centre (Estonia) on February 10th–12th, 2022
Recording and mixing engineer – José Diogo Neves
Assistant engineers –  Rasmus Maasen, Sander Rosenthal, Sten Türk
Mastering – Morten Bue (Orange Orchid Studio, Denmark)
Liner notes – Igor Garšnek
Front cover photo – Toomas Volkmann
Photos – Indrek Kasesalu
Back cover artwork – Külli Suitso
Design – Mart Kivisild
Artistic producer – Peeter Vähi

Special thanks: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Authors’ Society, Danish Arts Foundation, Koda’s Cultural Funds

Total time 49:55
ERP 12822, ERP 12822-S

℗ © 2022 Maria Faust, Estonian Record Productions


Lyrics in Latin and English

I Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison,
Christe eleison.

II Mother
Hello?
Is anyone there?
Does man have a soul?
We can hear you, talk to us, Ma’am.
Tell us your exact address, Ma’am.
Where are you?
Is anyone in danger?
Are you home?
(Yes, I’m home.)
Tell us your address!
(He’s still asleep. He’ll sleep for another hour.)
Has he hit you? Hello!?
We will help you!
We will take care of you!
We will protect you!
We’re on our way!
Does man have a soul?
How can a bud, bursting from a living branch,
nourished by soil and water, a child of air and sun,
the colour of fire and the heart, life’s bond to life,
freeze into a fortress of stone?
How can a song, that almost never stops,
lose melody and form and fade into a string of words?
How can dancing feet become echoing steps
with a strange, broken rhythm?

III Gloria
Gloria in excelsis Deo
et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te,
benedicimus te,
adoramus te,
glorificamus te,
gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam,
Domine Deus, Rex caelestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens.

IV Credo
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem,
factorem cæli et terræ, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum…
Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero…

V Child
Mommy?
Daddy?
Why is your door locked?
Why isn’t Mommy talking?
Are you dead?
Get up!
Have you left me? Mommy, Daddy?!
The night is dark, sleep, my child.
Sleep, little darling, safe in your cradle,
baby bird’s song is silenced by dreams.
Tired are your tiny feet, tired are your tiny hands,
this is the lullaby once sung to me.
Sleep, little darling, safe in your cradle,
the wind whispers softly in the old tree.
Tenderly guarded, fully protected,
this is the lullaby once sung to me.

VI Sanctus Benedictus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.

VII Holy Spirit
Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 199 paragraph 1, clause 1.
We shall not proceed with the case. There are no grounds for prosecution.
When I calmed down,
my whole body grew weak
after sobbing all day,
I have sunk into a deep,
bottomless mire
with nothing under foot.
I am tired of crying out,
my throat is hoarse,
my eyes are heavy.
Take me back, Father.
Forgive me, Father.
I forgive you, Father.

VIII Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
Dona eis requiem.

IX Finale
Does man have a soul?


Maria Faust’s Mass of Mary (2020 / 2022) combines the musical influences of medieval music, jazz, sonoristic contemporary music, as well as the older Estonian folk tunes. In itself, it is characteristic of today’s postmodern sense of art that the „new” can often also be a rethinking of the old, time-tested values of musical art, manifested in the contemporary musical context. This is how the transcendent connection between today’s soundscape and the music world of centuries ago could sound like.
Since Mass of Mary is dedicated to victims of domestic violence, the composer has used in her work not only the liturgical Mass text, but also the esteemed playwright Eero Epner’s compilation of samples from texts by Karl Ristikivi and other poets. They give the traditional Mass text in certain parts (Mother, Child, Holy Spirit, and Finale) a more intimate, additional meaning referring to the fragility of family relationships regarding victims of domestic violence.
The sound language of Mass of Mary is relatively experimental in the sense that musical stylistic references alternate quite quickly here. Thus, bright and gentle musical motifs in the female voices of the choir can immediately switch to the jazz-like theme development of the instrumental ensemble (Gloria), and the laconicity, similar to the motifs of the Middle Ages, can be transformed into the artistic „barking” of the male voices of the choir and the mellow whispers of the female voices (Sanctus/Benedictus).
The choir and the instrumental ensemble have different roles within the framework of the Mass of Mary as a whole – while the center of gravity is mainly borne by the choir, the ensemble is left to carry an emphasis on dramatic accents, binding interludes and a „musical commentary”. That way, the music stays in good aural balance, emotionally as well as compositionally.

A distinctive feature of the work and sonic language of Maria Faust (1979) is bold experimentation with non-traditional jazz currents and, in recent years, an appeal to musical large forms. She is one of the most internationally recognized Estonian jazz artists.
Maria Faust studied piano, singing and saxophone at the Kuressaare Music School from 1986 to 1997, and from 1997 to 2001 continued her music studies at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music College. She has also studied orchestral conducting at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre for one year, after which she went to the Danish National Academy of Music to study alto saxophone and jazz. Maria Faust received her master’s degree there in 2008 and in 2016 she graduated from the Copenhagen Conservatory of Rhythm Music with PhD degree both in performance and composition. She has been a conductor of the Copenhagen Estonian Choir. In addition to her concert activities, she also teaches composition at the above-mentioned Copenhagen Conservatory.
Maria Faust has been recognized with numerous awards both in Estonia and Denmark, among them the Estonian Jazz Musician of the Year 2016 and the Estonian Jazz Composer of the Year 2019. In Denmark, though, among her other achievements, in the 2013 Danish Music Awards she was nominated Composer of the Year for album Jazz Catastrophe and was the winner of the Danish Music Awards Jazz 2014 in the categories Composer of the Year and Cross-over Album of the Year.
Maria Faust was also awarded the prestigious Hæderspris (2019) by the Danish Composers and Songwriters Association. Most recently, in 2020, for the album Sacrum Facere ORGAN, she was awarded the Prize Jazz Album of the Year in Denmark and in 2021, she received the Estonian Music Award.

Estonian chamber choir Collegium Musicale (CM) was founded by conductor Endrik Üksvärav in 2010. Its repertoire extends from Renaissance to contemporary music where a special place is dedicated to Estonian composers: Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Erkki-Sven Tüür etc. The aim of the choir is to offer high level musical emotions and be ambassadors of Estonian culture. The choir has co-operated with many different orchestras and ensembles – Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, Tallinn Baroque Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra et al.
CM has sung under the baton of Andres Mustonen, Tõnu Kaljuste, Kaspars Putniņš, Simon Carrington, Jos van Veldhoven, Gianluca Marciano etc. The choir has had concert tours in Italy, France, Finland, Germany, Japan, Israel and other countries.
Estonian Choral Association has elected CM three times the Choir of the Year. In 2018 CM and conductor Endrik Üksvärav won the Music Award 2018 of Estonian Cultural Endowment for the brilliant promotion of Estonian choral music.

Conductor and tenor Endrik Üksvärav has graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in choral conducting under the tutelage of Olev Oja and Hirvo Surva and has studied singing in the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. Üksvärav has conducted many wind and chamber orchestras and chamber choirs as well as attended the masterclasses of Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Jorma Panula, Eri Klas and Anders Eby.
As a soloist, he has performed at Utrecht Early Music Festival, Nargenfestival and Tallinn Bach Music Festival. In 2012, Üksvärav was recognized by the Estonian Cultural Endowment for his work as a conductor and singer and for initiating the Pühalepa Music Festival.


Media reviews:

Mass of Mary is, undoubtedly, the most ambitious and most vocal – literally – work of Faust, thematically and musically. Faust weaves a dramatic and highly emotional, moving narrative that expands her open and encompassing musical vision and language. She employs brilliantly the angelic female soloists, the choir, often acting as a choir in the Greek tragedies, and the chamber ensemble of bassoon, trumpet and trombone players, and herself on the alto sax, in a way that colors Mass of Mary in a mythic perspective. (Jan Granlie, salt peanuts*, 06.01.23, Norway, whole article)

Teksternes kontrastfyldte drama har en musikalsk parallel i det musikalske, hvor værket benytter sig af smukke korsatser, der trækker på middelalderens kirkemusik, og som synges fornemt af det estiske kammerkor Collegium Musicale. Men den skønne orden brydes også her af råb, af fortvivlede spørgsmål og mest uhyggeligt af den angstfyldte hvisken, som understreger den hemmelighedsfyldte vold. /…/ At Mass of Mary endelig er blevet tilgængelig i pladeform, kan man glæde sig over. Ikke kun fordi værket tager fat i en sørgeligt relevant problemstilling, men også fordi det er en kunstnerisk kraftpræstation, som via en helstøbt sammentænkning af form og indhold evner at rumme en stor kompleksitet i sin behandling af temaet. (Rasmus Steffensen, Information, 16.02.23, Denmark, whole article)

Mass of Mary er endnu et højdepunkt i Maria Fausts karriere. Det er et album der kommer til, at stå som hovedværk. Alvoren, dramaet og skønheden er i forening på et album der uden problemer bevæger sig mellem genrerne. (Niels Overgård, JazzNyt, 14.03.23, Denmark, whole article)

Mittetraditsioonilise muusikastilistikaga silma paistev Maria Faust lasi välja oma “Maarja missa”, mis on vokaalsolistidele, kammerkoorile ja puhkpilliansamblile loodud enam kui kolmveerandtunnine suurvorm. Selles saavad kokku vanamuusika stilisatsioon, eksperimentaalne postmodernism ja džäss, kus ladinakeelsed kanoonilised liturgilised tekstid ristuvad Karl Ristikivi ja Eero Epneri värssidega. /…/ Produtsent Peeter Vähi: “Missa pole… ühe andeka džäss-saksofonisti loomingukatsetus, julgeksin seda nimetada Maria Fausti senise loomingu absoluutseks tipuks.” (Postimees, 24.11.22, Estonia, whole article)


Distribution by ERP (info@erpmusic.com, www.erpmusic.com), Easy-Living Music (reispuk@neti.ee), and Estonian Music Information Centre (emic@emic.ee)
See also: Mass of Mary at Glasperlenspiel Music Festival
Available for downloads: Spotify
See also other vinyl records by ERP: Contra aut pro?, A Chant of Bamboo, Zatonuvshiy Den’

Other albums with Collegium Musicale