"Gospel Mass"

Robert Ray's Gospel Mass, composed in 1978, was premirered at the University of Illinois and performed by the University's Black Chorus. This work was written while Ray was a liturgy team leader for the National Office of Black Catholics. The Mass was created out of a need from these workshops. The Gospel Mass is Dr.Ray's interpretation of over two thousand years of liturgical tradition with the more contemporary music from the African-American church................. Each setting creates within the listener a different feeling about the worship experience. In Dr. Ray's words: "It is  my desire to combine centuries of old traditions of Mass settings with sounds from the contemporary black church.............I wanted everyone to experience the sense of joy and celebration that is generally felt in true African-American worship."