Setting
In this post, I share my latest Mass setting, the Missa O Rex Gloriae for SATB choir, which I completed in December 2025. You can download a free PDF of the setting at the bottom of the post, licensed Creative Commons BY-NC-ND.
Kyrie
Gloria
Sanctus
Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Discussion
Intention and Imagery
I intend, by this setting of the Mass dedicated to Jesus Christ, the King of Glory (Missa O Rex Gloriae), to paint a picture of the mystery of the humble King born in a stable in Bethlehem and lying in a manger, of the suffering King in agony on the cross, and of the Lamb sitting upon the throne adored by the court of heaven and to Whom prayers continuously rise, as incense rises from our altars – as if seeing all three of these images stacked upon each another translucently.
For it seems to me that the thrones of this glorious King are connected. The wood of the manger is mystically linked to the wood of the cross and even to his heavenly throne: for “ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory?” (St. Luke 24:26).
Beside each of these thrones is the Blessed Virgin Mary, of whom it may also be said that she is his throne. So, too, sanctifying grace transforms the soul into a living tabernacle, in which Jesus abides and reigns, making the soul like to another throne of the King of Glory.
Linking these thrones to the Mass, we see that the Mass is the expression of all these things, wherein the passion of Jesus is made present to us in an un-bloody manner; and we receive Our Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, even as the manger of Bethlehem (the House of Bread) received the Divine Bread of Heaven; and our prayers rise with those of the angels ceaselessly singing: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus!
Occasion
While the hymn O Rex Gloriae deals specifically with the Ascension of Our Lord, it is more in the former sense conveyed above that this Mass setting is entitled Missa O Rex Gloriae. Indeed, I feel this setting is not specifically for the feast of the Ascension – not even principally.
Rather, this music contains the element of mystery, as on Christmas, the day the King of Glory first appeared to Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the magi. It hints of the sorrow of the glorification of Christ in his passion, appropriate for Holy Thursday on which day Christ said to his Father, “Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee” (St. John 17:1).
Additionally, it has a solemnity, as of the prayers offered before the Lamb: “And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God. And the smoke of the incense of the payers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel” (Apocalypse 8:3-4). Finally, it seems to me that the setting is musically appropriate as a requiem Mass, with the omission of the Gloria and the requiem version of the Agnus Dei.
Interpretation
I don’t generally put many interpretive markings in the scores, but I have marked up the Gloria in the video below significantly to give some sense of how the Mass setting could be interpreted. What I have below is only a suggestion:
Gloria with Interpretation
About the Featured Image
The featured image is Christ Presented to the People by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. It is in the public domain in the United States.
