Assignment Five:

Comparison of a mass setting written by Palestrina and Whitacre

Giovanni da Palestrina (1525-1594) is famed for writing thousands of sacred compositions, including those for the Roman Catholic mass ceremony.  Palestrina’s technique of merging polyphonic styles with melodic voices to create a sense “tranquil beauty” and “spiritual purity” (O’Rourke-Jones & Summers 2013:60) was admired by later composers such as Wagner and Debussy. 

Palestrina’s Hodie Christus natus est (1601) is an example of his compositional 'mass’ style.  This piece is considered a ‘parody mass’ Blume (1968:59), meaning that it is based on a cantus firmus, a melodic line from one of his own motets.

Hodie Christus natus est comprises of the traditional six parts of mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Santus, Benedictus and Angus Dei.  Throughout, the monophonic style of the older Gregorian chant is interwoven with the Renaissance preference for rich texture.   For example, the opening sections of Kyrie, Gloria, Credo and Angus Dei all begin with a clear monophonic chant before polyphonic imitation begins to ‘grow’ from the original melody.  In contrast, Santus and Benedictus begin with a ‘cascading’ effect with all eight vocal lines rapidly imitating each other before moving away on different paths.  This sense of contrast provides the feeling of awe and transcendence associated with a mass.  It is interesting to note that no vocal line takes precedence over the other.  Whilst at times the higher or lower voices seem to ‘take the lead’, Palestrina constantly maintains a balance by introducing unison sections and frequent imitation. 

Eric Whitacre (1970 -) is an American contemporary composer described as an important figure of choral music today.  His music is described as displaying “stunning colors, brilliant text painting and harmonic complexity” (Stultz, 2010).  Whitacre’s Lux Aurumsque (2009), used as a Christmas mass setting in Westminster Cathedral, adopts many modern techniques, providing a stark contrast to Palestrina’s composition, whilst retaining a number of similarities. 

Contrasting Palestrina’s work and the traditional mass compositional form, Whitacre opted for just one movement in his piece, as opposed to the traditional six.  However, it is fair to say that Whitacre’s shorter piece carries the same range of emotion found in longer, more formal masses.   Much like Hodie Christus natus est,, the piece begins with the feeling of a Gregorian chant, but with added texture offered by vocal imitation.  These vocals carry a resonant property, offering a euphoric ‘hum’ that radiates throughout.  However, unlike Palestrina’s piece, Whitacre's composition contains a more harmonic nature, focusing less on the texture of polyphony.  In my opinion, the soprano and alto voices play a stronger role, harmonically underpinned by their lower counterparts.     

Whitacre writes that Lux Aurumsque can be described as a parody mass.  However, unlike Palestrina’s parody, based on ancient religious texts, Whitacre was inspired by a modern English poem, ‘Light and Gold’ by Edward Esch (1970).  It should be noted though that Whitacre had the poem translated into Latin for his composition, perhaps to pay tribute to earlier examples (Whitacre, n.d.).

Another similarity is the scale of the choirs used.  Although Palestrina’s piece was composed for two choirs over eight lines, Whitacre’s piece was originally written for only four voices, but was performed by a ‘virtual choir’ of over 185 voices, across twelve countries. 

In conclusion, whilst these pieces vary in many ways, I would suggest that they both hold the same sense of ascension and enlightenment required to reflect the benevolence of God.  Both composers adopted techniques suited to their time periods, thus enabling their work to reach and impact a bigger audience. 

A study of Johann Sebastian Bach’s influence on Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade of Pale.

This essay will attempt draw comparisons on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Procol Harum’s, A White Shade of Pale (1967).  I will be exploring the use of instrumentation, counterpoint and other musical techniques synonymous with the Baroque composer, and will outline both similarities and differences between the two pieces. 

Composed by Gary Brooker, Keith Reid and Matthew Fisher, Procol Harum’s 1967 chart topping hit was met with mixed reviews, with critics describing the pieces as ‘odd’ and unlike the work of their contemporaries such as the Beatles and The Who (Scott-Irvine, 2012).  However, it still remains one of the classics of popular music, perhaps due to its individuality and homage to classical compositional techniques. 

A Whiter Shade of Pale offers a number of elements reminiscent of Bach, including imitation of his Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major (1717-23), the use of techniques such as descending bass, counterpoint and the use of Bach’s favoured instrument, the organ.    It is clear to see that the Baroque period has inspired this piece, and despite a number of arguments to the contrary, Brooker himself said that:

“I was inspired I think by Bach. I was trying to play Air on the G String by ear. I already knew the first couple of bars, but I really liked what the bass line was doing in it, and I carried it on and played something over the top, Bach-like.”

(Brooker, 2003)

When studying the score of both the second movement Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.3: Air and Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale, it is clear to see similarities in the opening bars.  Both pieces begin with the treble instruments giving a prolonged note before ‘opening out’ into the familiar melody.   Distinct parallels exist in the bass line too, with Air delivering a descending stepwise bass pattern moving down the diatonic scale by an octave, beginning on the tonic and adopting intervals of sixths and sevenths along its path.  This same pattern is evident in Procol Harum’s composition, but this time it manages a two-octave pattern.   However, it is perhaps the ornamental motifs and ‘trills’ heard at the beginning of Bach’s Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140 (1731) which provide the greatest level of imitation. 

Arguably it is the organist and co-songwriter of A Whiter Shade of Pale, Matthew Fisher, who brings the heaviest Bach influence on the piece.  Long (2008) suggests that Fisher’s classical musical training would likely have equipped him with the skills to imitate perhaps one of Bach’s most infamous techniques, polyphony.  In addition he writes that the second chorale stanza of Bach’s cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140 (1731), bears similarity to Procol Harum’s piece due it is harmonious and seamless alternation between vocal and instrumental lines. 

O'Rourke-Jones & Summers (2013:103) write that Bach was “a master of the intricacies of counterpoint” creating numerous works across a variety of genres.  Works in Bach’s Art of the Fugue (c. 1740 -50) provide an excellent insight into Bach’s craft of composing independently moving, yet harmonically linked melodic lines.  Burkholder et al. (2010:453) add that Bach’s “conflicting demands of harmony and counterpoint, of melody and polyphony, reach a tense but satisfying equilibrium”.  This rich blend of polyphony can clearly be seen in the interaction between the vocal and organ lines in A Whiter Shade of Pale.  These two melodies, that run simultaneously, are based around fixed harmonic points tying the two interweaving voices together.  Fig. 1 shows how these two melodic parts move and blend together, offering a rich harmonic texture. 

Fig. 1: The independent interaction between the organ and vocal lines in Procol Harum’s

A Whiter Shade of Pale (1967)

When listening to other popular pieces released in 1967, such as The Beatles’ All You Need is Love (1967) and The Doors' Light My Fire (1966-7), it is clear to see that these are composed with a homophonic nature, with vocals taking precedence over accompanying instrumentals, often guitars and drums.  However, A Whiter Shade of Pale’s polyphonic texture detracts attention from the vocal line, placing equal importance on the other instruments, thus taking on a more orchestral feel.   Rosco (2004) suggests that many of Bach’s work also contained this level of equal instrumental importance over multiple lines, resulting in an elaborate contrapuntal effect.  This can be seen within Bach’s Bradenburg Concerto’s (1721), The Well Tempered Clavier (1722) and the earlier mentioned Wachet auf, ruft die Stimme BWV 140 (1731), which Fisher also claimed gave him great inspiration when composing his 1967 hit (Fisher, 2000).   

In addition, Blake (1997) describes how A Whiter Shade of Pale borrowed patterns and elements of chord progressions echoed in Bach’s chorale and orchestral works.  The descending chord pattern in Procol Harum’s piece is reminiscent of that in Bach’s Crucifixus (1733), part of his Mass in B minor.  In addition, the use of imperfect cadences, such as submediant to the tonic, which appear frequently in A Whiter Shade of Pale, are detailed in the analysis of many of Bach’s works (Dreyfus, 1996). 

An analysis of Bach’s inspiration upon A White Shade of Pale would not be complete without reference to the choice of instrumentation, particularly the use of the organ.  Described as the instrument that inspired Bach to devise some of his greatest compositions and afford him the prestigious label of a ‘world famous organist’, the instrument features heavily in Bach’s works (Yearsley, 2012).  Pieces such as Piece d'Orgue in G Major, BWV 572 (c. 1710), Toccata and Fugue in F Major, BWV 540 (c. 1730) and Prelude and Fugue in B Minor, BWV 544 (1703-07) show how Bach’s mastery of the instrument resulted in rich textural pieces, capable of portraying great emotion and virtuosity.  Albeit with the use of much more modern style of the instrument, a Hammond Electric Organ, Fisher’s abilities in both playing and composing an integral feature of both tying together many of ‘out-dated’ techniques such as counterpoint, and emanating sounds of the trademark sound of Bach and Baroque era.  

In conclusion, although I agree with arguments that A Whiter Shade of Pale is not a ‘rip-off’ of Bach’s earlier works, it is hard to ignore the striking similarities, therefore the influence of Bach on this piece.  Whilst Brooker contributed the improvised imitation of Bach’s Air that inevitably helps to give a ‘Bachian’ feel, it is arguably Fisher who guided the piece to more ‘classical’ territory.  Thanks largely to his musical training on the organ, which would have led him to encounter Bach’s techniques, Fisher demonstrates a skill, ability and understanding of counterpoint and orchestral technique synonymous with Johann Sebastian Bach.