From the start you’re grabbed by the passion, the rhythms, and most of all by the sense of love put into the music. The Missa Luba, originally performed by Les Troubadours Du Roi Baudouin in 1958, has been making converts of people who would not normally be interested in church music, or world music for that matter. To brand this music with such labels would be a major misstep though, because the Missa Luba transcends such tropes.
The recording is a Congolese adaptation of the Latin Mass arranged by a Franciscan Friar Guido Hazaan, and recorded by a male children’s choir. It was recorded four years before the start of Vatican II when Latin was essentially phased out of the Mass. In the original liner notes Pulitzer Prize winner Studs Terkel described the sound as being an example of a missionary learning from a new culture instead of forcing something upon people. When you hear the recording you probably won’t understand anything being said, but that never gets in the way of the sense of love and joy coming through. That sort of thing can be off putting at first, but the sincerity here manages to blow away any sort of cynicism. This has certainly allowed the Missa Luba to grow in respect over the decades and stretch its influence outward instead of being forgotten as a world music gimmick.
That overwhelming sense of bliss in the music brings me to a rather unexpected musical connection. If you listen to the Missa Luba with ears up to date with modern music, you might be shocked by how similar if feels to albums like Person Pitch and Merriweather Post Pavilion. Throughout their entire discography Animal Collective have nailed that same combination of spiritual power and tribal freedom; arguably one of the key reasons they have such a dedicated fan base. These share the Charles Ives philosophy of all music having equal value, from Church music to folk songs.
When Noah Lennox toured last year he would usually let Tomboy closer “Benfica” bleed into Person Pitch opener “Comfy in Nautica,” some of the most powerful moments on the respective albums. That moment felt strong enough to be playing in a church, it could have fit in during a Mass, and that is exactly what Father Hazaan accomplished with his choir: music that expressed a universal spirituality regardless of cultural boundaries.
