Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville


The Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville is a missa brevis written by Gabriel Fauré in collaboration with his former pupil André Messager. A later version, published as Messe basse contained only movements composed by Fauré.

''Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville'' (1881)

Fauré and Messager worked together on the mass in the summer of 1881.
The sections of the mass run as follows:
  1. Kyrie
  2. Gloria
  3. Sanctus
  4. O Salutaris
  5. Agnus Dei
The first performance took place in Villerville on 4 September 1881 accompanied by a harmonium and a violin. The concert was in aid of the fishermen's charitable association. Messager orchestrated the first four sections, and Fauré the last. A second performance, this time accompanied by orchestra, was given in Villerville the following year.

''Messe basse'' (published 1907)

In 1907, Heugel & Cie. published a version of the mass, removing Messager's sections and the Gloria, and incorporating a new Kyrie by Fauré; this version, produced by Fauré in 1906, appeared under the title Messe basse.