In Austria, congregational singing of sacred texts in Old High German at Easter Masses is attested by medieval manuscripts dating as early as the twelfth century.
In addition, vernacular adaptations of parts of the Ordinary of the Mass appeared as early as the 1260s, when a homily of Berthold of Regensburg describes a profession of faith which was sung after the Latin Credo: "I believe in the Father, I believe in the Son of my Lady Saint Mary, and in the Holy Spirit, Kyrie eleison."
[1] The German Singmesse, in its classic form, originated in efforts toward a German-language celebration of the Mass during the Enlightenment era, especially in southern Germany and in Austria, in areas influenced by Josephinism.
As a matter of liturgical history, the Singmesse varieties replaced the orchestral Masses previously used, which Kaiser Joseph II had forbidden in his domain.
Following the recommendations of Romano Guardini and the Benedictines of Maria Laach Abbey under Abbot Ildefons Herwegen, the Augustinian canon Pius Parsch of Klosterneuburg Monastery celebrated so-called "Community Masses" (Gemeinschaftsmessen) in the Church of St. Gertrude (Klosterneuburg) in 1922, in which parts of the Mass were sung by the people in the German language.
[2] The Betsingmesse became obsolete with the liturgical reform introduced after the Second Vatican Council and with the introduction of vernacular liturgy in the celebration of the Missa cum populo.