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
![]() Κύριε ελέησον.
Kyrie eleison. ![]() Signore, pietà. ![]() Señor, ten piedad. ![]() Senhor, tende piedade de nós. ![]() ข้าแต่พระเจ้า ทรงพระกรุณาเทอญ |
![]() Lord, have mercy. ![]() Herr, erbarme dich. ![]() Heer, ontferm U onzer. ![]() Seigneur, prends pitié. ![]() Panie, zmiłuj się nad nami. |
![]() 上主,求你垂憐。 ![]() Uram, irgalmazz! ![]() Panginoon, maawa Ka. ![]() Xin Chúa thương xót chúng con. ![]() Herre, forbarm dig over os |
- Texts
- Greek texts
- Translations
- Italian translations
- Spanish translations
- Portuguese translations
- Thai translations
- English translations
- German translations
- Dutch translations
- French translations
- Polish translations
- Chinese translations
- Hungarian translations
- Tagalog translations
- Vietnamese translations
- Danish translations
- Text pages