Messe de Nostre Dame

The Messe de Nostre Dame consists of six movements, namely the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and the dismissal Ite, missa est.

Machaut's unification of these items into an artistic whole is the earliest instance of an Ordinary of the Mass setting that is stylistically coherent and was also conceived as a unit.

[3] Some scholars hypothesize that, contrary to popular belief, Machaut did not actually come to work for the Reims Cathedral until the end of the 1350s, composing the mass as an act of devotion and dedication marking his arrival in the precinct.

The Gloria and Credo of the Messe de Nostre Dame exhibit some similarities to the Tournai mass, such as textless musical interludes, simultaneous style, and long melismatic Amens.

[1] It is often stated that the Messe de Nostre Dame was first recorded by Safford Cape in 1956 for the Deutsche Grammophon Archiv Produktion Series.