Missa Popularis

The Missa Popularis, rock music in church, raised eyebrows in Finnish church-music circles in the late-1960s: "We are returning to a dark jungle in which pop freaks get entranced like shamans at their own voices and noise." (Erkki Ranta, letter to the editor in Kotimaa, 1969) "Defending the use of light popular music in Christian, even revivalist Christian circles, just makes me sad." (Juha Väliaho- Uusi tie 1969) But the experts praised the quality of the music: "Timo Ruottinen's setting of the Mass undoubtedly serves it's purpose extremely well and it is, of it's kind, a high-quality work. [...] At first hearing, I'd say that the young composer has an extremely rich melodic seam and a well-developed ability to create unbroken lines in setting such a difficult text to music. The danger of monotony was brilliantly avoided by different rhythmic contrasts that, together with strong dynamic variations, brought the music alive and made it interesting. As regards the content of the movements, [Ruottinen] has succeeded in finding various combinations of timbre in his use of his limited instruments, chorus and soloists." (Matti Vainio- Keskisuomalainen) "Even if Ruottinen never composed anything else apart from this Mass in his lifetime, it will occupy an important place of it's own. Here at last the old merges with the new as true, exalted church music." (Heikki Seppälä, legendary organist of Tampere Cathedral, in Aamulehti)