An Interview with Dave and Lauren Moore, Composers of the Mass of Peace

The 2024 Source & Summit Missal includes new Mass Settings from Peter Latona, Paul Jernberg, Dave and Lauren Moore, and Horst Buchholz. I had a conversation with each composer to learn more about their inspiration and to have an inside look at their music from their point of view.

The third interview is with Dave and Lauren Moore, composers of the Mass of Peace and founders of the Catholic Music Initiative. Dave is also the Director of Liturgy and Music for the National Eucharistic Congress that will be held in Indianapolis in July of 2024.

This is Part Four in a four-part series on the new Mass Settings in the 2024 Source & Summit Missal.

Click here to view ‍Part One, Part Two, and Part Three in the interview series.

Adam Bartlett: What was your inspiration for composing the Mass of Peace?

Dave & Lauren Moore: I think even more than inspiration, we wrote Mass of Peace when the new translation of the Roman Missal came out in 2011. We tried the “new versions” of the ones we had done for years and years, but we didn’t feel like we could engage the congregation in the same way as we once had. We were preparing to play a big conference and since there wasn’t one single popular mass setting, we decided to write one a week before the performance. The moment we sang the Kyrie and Glory to God, we heard an audible response from the people at Mass. They were able to sing along after hearing the primary nine-note motif after a few introductory phrases. At that moment we knew we had found something that worked for our community.

AB: How has the Mass Setting been received since it was first released?

DLM: We continued to develop the Mass Setting over the next few years. Our home parish was very responsive to it, and one could say the roof was coming off because they were singing with such enthusiasm. We served in music ministry when God opened a door for us to lead worship, music at Mass, and other events. We attempted to integrate it into the communities we were serving, always paying attention to established customs and pastoral context. This began the principle / genesis / foundation of writing mass settings that could easily adapt to various styles and languages. Our aim has been to craft easy-to-follow melodies, with stepwise motion in most instances, that virtually anyone could sing intuitively.

AB: The Mass of Peace is unique in its ability to cross over between different accompaniment styles and instrumentation, and you have made a massive effort to produce several different arrangements (for organ and choir, contemporary instrumentation, and even for orchestra, among others). Tell me about these different arrangements, and about how they will be used in parishes.

DLM: We have composed Mass of Peace to be performed in five different ways: We have arrangements for Schola / SATB Choir, Organ and Choir, Contemporary instrumentation, Piano / Orchestral instrumentation, and Piano / Acoustic Guitar. We also have versions in Spanish and Tagalog (coming in 2024). The organ and choir version has an optional trumpet line that the organist can choose to add in, or use when trumpeters are available. One of the most unique aspects of these arrangements is that all parts are interchangeable. If you want to use the orchestral arrangement with Organ and Choir, it can be done. If you want orchestral instruments to play with the Lifeteen band, there is a part for each instrument. If you are an a capella group, the SATB schola arrangement is for you. We’ve even played the Mass Setting with piano accompaniment and with an organ playing the string arrangements. As the music director you can select the parts that meet your needs at any given time. 

AB: Why did you decide to publish this Mass Setting in the Source & Summit Missal?

DLM: We have served in many different capacities throughout our lives as music ministers. Lauren studied classical voice and opera, and I grew up writing songs and touring in bands. It was our love for the Mass that brought two kids together who normally might not have gotten along on the playground of music. Seeing what Source & Summit offers to parishes is exciting. We want to walk alongside Source & Summit in the task of renewing the liturgy through prayerful, accessible music. We share this common goal, and we are excited to share the Mass of Peace more broadly within the Church. 

AB: What is your hope for what the Mass of Peace might help achieve in the liturgical life of the Catholic Church in the United States?

DLM: One of the pillars of our ministry is to create music for the liturgy. We aim to create music that reflects the beauty of God and that is congregational—music that is both rooted in tradition and in service to evangelization. We believe that our music can serve the Universal Church and all the people in it.

AB: What is the Catholic Music Initiative all about?

DLM: CMI is about renewing the Mass through singable, prayerful and reverent music. Our vision is to compose beautiful liturgical music, to create a collaborative platform that leavens the heritage of our faith through the formation of dedicated composers and musicians giving glory to God, and to bring the focus back to Jesus in the Eucharist through nights of Adoration, solid Catholic hymnody, and education in our history and tradition. We believe that music is the tip of the spear that pierces the heart and cuts the cloth of division. We believe now is the time to double down on beauty and art, because beauty and art is the dialect of God. We want to continue to make music that elevates the Mass and inspires people to faith, conversion, and to the task of evangelization.

AB: Where can people find additional support resources for the Mass of Peace?

DLM: Support resources for the Mass of Peace can be found on the Catholic Music Initiative website. Anyone can become a member with a free trial now through September 31st. Beginning on October 1, 2023, you can transition to an annual membership to access all of the resources in the CMI catalog. Visit www.catholicmusicinitiative.org and click Member Login on the top left banner.

Dave Moore

Director of Music and Liturgy, National Eucharistic Congress; CEO and Co-Founder, Catholic Music Initiative

Dave Moore is a joy-filled disciple who seeks to honor God through his music, ministry, and family. A devoted Singer-songwriter, producer, and liturgist, Dave puts the bride of Christ before his artistic ambitions. Dave and his wife Lauren are the founders of Catholic Music Initiative, a non-profit apostolate that creates beautiful and singable music for Mass. Their work strives to build a bridge between contemporary and traditional isles while summoning engagement and enlivening the hearts of the faithful to enter into full union with God in the Mass. At the invitation of Bishop Edward Burns, Dave was instrumental in the strategic execution of the Diocese of Dallas televised Mass—a ministry that was born as a response to the global pandemic and continues to bear much fruit for the people in North Texas and beyond.

Dave’s deepest desire is to see a unified church, where the Eucharistic Lord has a primacy of place in the hearts of the faithful, rightly honored, adored and worshiped. Dave resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Lauren, and their daughter.

Lauren Moore

CIO and Co-Founder, Catholic Music Initiative

Lauren Moore is a wife and mother who seeks to inspire God’s people through beautiful music that orients people to God. Alongside her husband Dave, Lauren founded the Catholic Music Initiative and has sung and directed over a thousand recordings since the ministry's genesis. Lauren studied vocal performance at Texas A&M Corpus Christi and The University of Texas at Austin. She has performed in many parts of the world, namely Germany and Austria. Lauren loves to sing opera, but more recently has enjoyed singing sacred chant. She currently sings and arranges chant for CMI’s partnership with the Hallow app. At the invitation of Bishop Edward Burns, Lauren serves as the Cantor for the Diocese of Dallas Televised Mass; a Mass that reached over 200,000 households a week during the pandemic and continues to bless people in North Texas and beyond.

Request a Sample Copy of the Source & Summit Missal

You can request a sample copy of the Source & Summit Missal in both its Standard and Companion Editions at www.sourceandsummit.com.