Chancel Choir presents Joseph Jongen Mass, Op. 130 As part of the worship service for November 21, the Chancel Choir will present Joseph Jongen's Mass, Op. 130. Jongen (1873-1953), a Belgian composer, organist and pianist, was born in Liège and spent most of his life in his homeland. After study in Germany, he settled in Brussels and became director of the Royal Academy of Music. His compositions include all genres but opera, and he produced a particularly large body of works for chamber orchestra as well as for solo organ. Today, Jongen is known primarily for his Symphonie Concertante, one of the relatively few large-scale works for symphony and organ. Often described as the greatest Belgian composer after Franck, Jongen's compositional style was eclectic, with influences of his teachers D'Indy and Strauss as well as influences from the music of Debussy and Stravinsky. In the Mass, he adds the element of Gregorian chant. Composing in a consistent, seamless blend of form, idea and craft, he achieves an individual compositional style, which today deserves wide exposure.