The music of the Catholic Mass dates back more than 1,300 years and it’s still inspiring composers today

When young composers reboot old musical formulas, exciting things can happen. Sarah Kirkland Snider‘s arresting Mass for the Endangered — released Sept. 25 — is a 21st century twist on the Catholic mass, which has been sung in churches for more than 1300 years.

Snider, who was not raised Catholic, fell in love with sacred choral music as a kid in New Jersey, singing in the Princeton High School choir. Now, the composer, not yet 40, has delivered her first large choral work, and it shines with multi-layered singing of uncommon beauty.

By Tom Huizenga, NPR Classical Music