Missa Brevis (Britten)

Missa Brevis
by Benjamin Britten
Westminster Cathedral, where the Missa was first performed
Key	D major
Opus	63
Form	Missa brevis
Text	Mass ordinary
Performed	22 July 1959 (1959-07-22): Westminster Cathedral, London
Scoring	three-part treble choir and organ

The Missa Brevis in D, Op. 63, is a setting of the Latin mass completed by Benjamin Britten on Trinity Sunday, 1959.^[1] Set for three-part treble choir and organ, it was first performed at London's Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral on 22 July of the same year.^[1] Britten composed the mass for George Malcolm's retirement as organist and choirmaster at Westminster:^[1] the printed dedication reads "For George Malcolm and the boys of Westminster Cathedral Choir".^[2] It remained Britten's only liturgical setting of the mass. Malcolm's live recording, from a service at the cathedral, lasts ten minutes.