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LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Featured Objects 
"Gospel" from Bernstein's Mass
"Gospel" from Bernstein's Mass, 1971
Autograph score. Leonard Bernstein Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress. By permission of The Leonard Berstein Office, Inc. (61)
Digital ID #mc0061
"Gospel" from Bernstein's Mass, 1971
Subtitled "A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers," Leonard Bernstein’ s Mass is a huge work that confounded critics with its conflicting styles. The "Gospel: God Said," shown here in manuscript, is clearly Broadway inspired, while other selections draw on the blues and rock and roll. Bernstein described the work as a "reaffirmation of faith." Although some critics considered the work too eclectic, Mass continues to receive attention as a religious work of unquestionable power.
