Kyrie Eleison

A kyrie in which the plainsong melody is varied only on the ninth and final time.

The words spoken or sung at the beginning of the Mass in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches. Following the Introit, it has three parts of text: ‘Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison’, each of which is repeated three times, reflecting the Holy Trinity.

In musical setting, it is the first item of the Ordinary of the Mass. Originally it was not part of the Mass but of various Litanies, at the head of which it still stands. In the Mass it has a nine-fold structure, and the simplest melodic form consisted of eight repetitions of a simple melody followed by a quite different melody for the ninth clause. This melody closely resembles that still used for the Litany Kyries for Rogationtide and Holy Saturday. Other musical forms in common use were: aaa bbb aaa'; aaa bbb ccc'; and aba cdc efe' (a stroke represents an extended form of the phrase concerned).