Offertory
Chant of the Mass during the preparation of the gifts.
What it means
The offertory is the chant of the Mass during the preparation of the gifts, when bread and wine are brought to the altar. It comes after the Credo and belongs to the Proper, the parts of the Mass whose text changes according to the feast day or season of the church year. The text usually comes from the Psalms or other biblical books.
Musical use
In Gregorian chant the offertory is a particularly elaborate chant with rich, often melismatic melodies. Renaissance composers such as Palestrina set offertories polyphonically for the whole church year. In settings of the Requiem the offertory appears as a separate movement, for instance with the texts Domine Jesu Christe and Hostias.
The offertory should be distinguished from the Ordinary of the Mass, the unchanging parts (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei), and from the gradual, which is sung after the reading.
Performance practice
When you sing an offertory, pay attention to the speech melody of the Latin text and shape the longer melismas with calm breathing. Since this is often contemplative music, the sound should remain soft and rounded.