Abstract
The Missa Unitatis is scored for two independent choirs that can perform simultaneously or separately – a formal innovation generating two complete and independent mass settings that can be combined into a third. The work employs proportional notation, investigating how contemporary choral music can incorporate controlled temporal flexibility. This generates new knowledge about the compositional management of simultaneous independent musical streams and the perceptual experience of hearing two overlaid formal structures. The proportional notation research extends traditions explored by significant 20th-century composers, such as Arvo Pärt, into a liturgical context. Part of the portfolio for the degree of Doctor in Church Music (DMus, Central School of Religion, non-accredited), conferred 2026.