Yefimenko A. Catholic mass first half - the middle of XX century: art - aesthetic and liturgical aspects

Dissertation thesis is devoted to the complex research of the catholic mass within the context of the liturgical renewal in the first half of the 20th century until the Second Vatican Council in the years 1962–1965. For the first time the mass is investigated as a complex phenomenon from musical, theological and sociological points of view synthesizing them to a new examination level. Research is also directed towards the transformation of communicative aspects of the mass which resulted in a new status of the community and the church composer in the liturgical practice of the Catholic Church. The thesis differentiates the concepts of the mass as a work of art from the mass-cycle and mass-ritual, both of them in their connection to the liturgical practice. Theoretical and historical research aspects are substantiated using digressions on the mass’s past and mass compositions from the first half of the 20th century by church composers from Italy, France, Austria and Germany, particularly considering the artistic compositions by O. Messiaen, E. Satie, I. Stravinsky and P. Hindemith. The analysis methodology presented and provided in this thesis allows it to view and understand the musical mass organization as part of the complex entireness of the mass ritual.