Kyrie

The litany Kyrie eleison is usually the first item in settings of the Ordinary of the Mass and is said to have been introduced into the Latin Rite by Pope Sergius II. The Greek text is a 9-fold invocation (Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison, Christe eleison, Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison.) and is sometimes sung or set alternatim, that is with one choir or the organ beginning and a second choir singing the even-numbered repetitions. The 1970 Novus Ordo reduces these to 6.

A mediaeval practice was to insert tropes or extra text. This survived in the Sarum Rite, and polyphonic Communion Services by English composers usually omit the Kyrie, which would be treated as proper to the day. A Lutheran survival is Kyrie Gott Vater in Ewigkeit, based on the trope fons bonitatis. In other countries the numerous Gregorian melodies continued to be identified by the formerly associated tropes as well as local custom and order in publications. Thus Kyrie cunctipotens genitor is identified by Couperin as "pour les paroisses" ("for parish use"), by Frescobaldi as delli Apostoli (for Feast of Apostles) and appears as number IV in the Vatican Edition, while Kyrie orbis factor is Kyrie IX of the Sarum Rite and Kyrie XI in the Vatican Editions.

View the Wikipedia article on Kyrie.

Settings by composers

• Frank Adlam — Office of Holy Communion  SATB
• Ambrosian chant — Kyrie  Unison
• Anonymous — Kyrie (16th cent. English)  
• Anonymous — Kyrie  SATB
• Anonymous — Kyrie (de Beata Virgine) D-Ju MS 35  SATB
• Anonymous — Kyrie - Orbis Factor  Unison
• Anonymous — Kyrie de Beata Virgine  ATT
• Jacques Barbireau — Missa Virgo Parens Christi  SATTB
• Johannes Brassart — Kyrie - de apostolis  SAT
• George de Bruin — Kyrie for Double Choir  SSAATTBB
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier — Messe en sol mineur  SATB
• Adrian Cuello — Señor ten piedad (Kyrie)  SATB
• Christoph Dalitz — A Pentatonic Kyrie  SATB
• Christoph Dalitz — A simple Kyrie acclamation  SATB
• John Dunstable — Kyrie (Tr. 87, f. 126r)  ATB
• Carl-Aage Eliasson — Kyrie  SSA
• Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch — Christe eleison a 2 Cori voci Concertante  SATB.SATB
• Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch — Kyrie eleison a 16 voci reali  SATB.SATB.SATB.SATB
• Andrea Gabrieli — Kyrie a 5, a 8, a 12  SATB.ATBB.ATBB
• Andrea Gabrieli — Kyrie à 5  SATTB
• Giovanni Gabrieli — Kyrie a 12  SATB.SATB.SATB
• Giovanni Gabrieli — Kyrie à 12 (1615)  SSAT.ATTB.TBBB
• Mariano Garau — Kyrie  STB
• Mariano Garau — Kyrie II  SATB
• Charles H. Giffen — Kyrie eleison  SATB
• Charles Gounod — Kyrie eleison, CG 69  SSTTB
• Gregorian chant — Kyrie XVI  Unison
• John Hake — Kyrie  SSAT
• George Frideric Handel — Kyrie  SATB
• Oliver Hayes — Baa Baa Black Sheep Kyrie  SATB
• William Hayes — Kyrie Eleison  3 equal voices
• Hyett — Kyrie  SATB
• Márton Jakobey — Kyrie  TTBB
• Michal Janošík — Kyrie eleison  SATB
• Joseph Knapicius — Kyrie Eleison celebramus vitae  SATB
• Éric Leroy — Kyrie  SATB
• Donato Liberatore — Signore, pietà  ST
• Reginald Libert — Kyrie  SST, STT
• Johan Lindegren — Kyrie  SSATB
• Gonçalo Lourenço — Kyrie  SATB
• Frances Matthews — Kyrie  SSAATTBB
• Felix Mendelssohn — Kyrie  SATB.SATB
• Felix Mendelssohn — Kyrie in c-minor MWV B 12  SATB.SATB
• Nicolas Merques — Kyrie I  STT
• Nicolas Merques — Kyrie II  ATT
• Jorge Moreira — Kyrie eleison  SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Kyrie in Canon  5 equal voices
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Kyrie in D major, K.91/186i  SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Kyrie in D minor, KV 341  SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Kyrie in d minor, KV 90  SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Kyrie in F major, KV 33  SATB
• John Mundy — Kyrie  SATB
• William Mundy — Kyrie  SSST, SAAT
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Mass in E Flat - II  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Mass in E Flat - III  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Mass in F  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Mass in F of Our Lady  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Mass of Our Lady for December 8  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Mass of the Purification of Our Lady  TTB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Missa Mimosa  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Novena of St. joachim  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Office of Palm Sunday - II  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Office of Palm Sunday I  SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Short Mass  SATB
• Robert Okeland — Kyrie  SSAT
• Marbrianus de Orto — Kyrie (Missa in honorem Beatissimae Virginis)  STTB
• Paolo Pandolfo — Kyrie  SATB
• Mogens Pedersøn — Kyrie Gud Fader forbarme dig offuer oss  SATTB
• Fabrizio Perone — Kyrie  ST
• Markus Pfandler — Kyrie in black  SATBB
• Richard Quesnel — Kyrie de la Camerata  SA
• Josef Rheinberger — Kyrie, JWV 51  SATB
• Josef Rheinberger — Kyrie, JWV 8  SSATB
• Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck — Kyrie  SATB
• Rocco Rodio — Kyrie Adieu mes amours  SSATBB
• Johannes Roullet — Kyrie (Paschale)  SAT
• Erik Satie — Messe des Pauvres  SB
• Franz Schubert — Kyrie in B flat, D45  SATB
• John Sheppard — Kyrie & Haec dies  SATTBB
• Vianney Sicard — Kyrie  SS
• Caleb Simper — Kyrie  SATB
• Heather Soderling — Kyrie eleison  SATB
• Spierinck — Kyrie (paschale)  SAT
• Simone Stella — Kyrie eleison  SATB
• Joseph G. Stephens — Kyrie  SATB
• Remi Studer — Kyrie en re  SATB
• August Söderman — Kyrie (No. 1 from 'Andliga sånger')  SATB
• Thomas Tallis — Kyrie eleison  TTBB
• John Taverner — Kyrie Le Roy  SATB
• Velthur Tognoni — Kyrie  SATB,SAATTB
• Christopher Tye — Kyrie Orbis factor  ATTB
• Francisco Valls — Christe eleison (Missa Scala Aretina)  SSSAATT
• Scott Villard — Kyrie (2010)  SATB
• Hugo Wilderer — Kyrie (from Missa)  SATB

 

Text and translations

Greek text Κύριε ελέησον. Χριστε ελέησον. Κύριε ελέησον. Latin transliteration   Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Italian translation Signore, pietà. Cristo, pietà. Signore, pietà. Spanish translation Señor, ten piedad. Cristo, ten piedad. Señor, ten piedad. Portuguese translation Senhor, tende piedade de nós. Cristo, tende piedade de nós. Senhor, tende piedade de nós. Thai translation ข้าแต่พระเจ้า ทรงพระกรุณาเทอญ ข้าแต่พระคริสตเจ้า ทรงพระกรุณาเทอญ ข้าแต่พระเจ้า ทรงพระกรุณาเทอญ

English translation Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. German translation Herr, erbarme dich. Christus, erbarme dich. Herr, erbarme dich. Dutch translation Heer, ontferm U onzer. Christus, ontferm U onzer. Heer, ontferm U onzer. French translation Seigneur, prends pitié. Christ, prends pitié. Seigneur, prends pitié. Polish translation Panie, zmiłuj się nad nami. Chryste, zmiłuj się nad nami. Panie, zmiłuj się nad nami.

Chinese translation 上主，求你垂憐。 基督，求你垂憐。 上主，求你垂憐。 Hungarian translation Uram, irgalmazz! Krisztus, kegyelmezz! Uram, irgalmazz! Tagalog translation Panginoon, maawa Ka. Kristo, maawa Ka. Panginoon, maawa Ka. Vietnamese translation Xin Chúa thương xót chúng con. Xin Chúa Kitô thương xót chúng con. Xin Chúa thương xót chúng con. Danish translation Herre, forbarm dig over os Kriste, forbarm dig over os Herre, forbarm dig over os