The Mass of Light is a parody mass based on my previous work, Cahaya Purnama (“Moonlight”, 2017). The themes borrowed from Cahaya Purnama occur in every movement yet with various tonality and rhythm, written in double choir motet, inspired by Rheinberger’s Mass in E flat major op. 109, Cantus missae (1878). While this mass setting is written for double mixed choir, Credo became the only song where both choirs are unified, representing the unified parishioners proclaiming their faith.
Adapting the Roman Catholic church tradition since the Medieval towards the Renaissance period, there are parts written imitating the Gregorian chant, while other parts are written in antiphonal style, a style that is also used by Bach in writing his double choir motets. Beside the early music style, this setting is also written in carefully-selected keys, referring to the Baroque’s Doctrine of Affection; where music should be affecting the feeling of the listener, thus each key was said to have a characteristic—each song’s opening tonality sets the mood of the whole song, while the closing tonality express the final mood. The music is also enriched by a rich layer of groovy rhythm, something I always include in my music as a Southeast Asian composer.
After all, this mass setting is a prayer of hope, and I personally celebrate my faith to God through this mass setting.