Kyrie

The litany Kyrie eleison is usually the first item in settings of the Ordinary of the Mass and is said to have been introduced into the Latin Rite by Pope Sergius II. The Greek text is a 9-fold invocation (Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison, Christe eleison, Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison.) and is sometimes sung or set alternatim, that is with one choir or the organ beginning and a second choir singing the even-numbered repetitions. The 1970 Novus Ordo reduces these to 6.

A mediaeval practice was to insert tropes or extra text. This survived in the Sarum Rite, and polyphonic Communion Services by English composers usually omit the Kyrie, which would be treated as proper to the day. A Lutheran survival is Kyrie Gott Vater in Ewigkeit, based on the trope fons bonitatis. In other countries the numerous Gregorian melodies continued to be identified by the formerly associated tropes as well as local custom and order in publications. Thus Kyrie cunctipotens genitor is identified by Couperin as "pour les paroisses" ("for parish use"), by Frescobaldi as delli Apostoli (for Feast of Apostles) and appears as number IV in the Vatican Edition, while Kyrie orbis factor is Kyrie IX of the Sarum Rite and Kyrie XI in the Vatican Editions.

View the Wikipedia article on Kyrie.

Settings by composers (automatically updated)

• Frank Adlam —  English SATB
• Ambrosian chant —  Greek Unison
• Fridthjov Anderssen —  Latin SATB
• Anonymous —  Latin SATB
• Anonymous —  Latin ATB
• Anonymous —  Greek 
• Anonymous —  Greek SATB
• Anonymous —  Latin SATB
• Anonymous —  2 Unison
• Anonymous —  Ancient Greek ATT
• Anonymous —  Latin ATT
• Anonymous —  2 ATT
• Anonymous —  Greek ATT
• Ruggerio Argilliano —  Latin SATB.SATB
• Ruggerio Argilliano —  Latin SATB.SATB
• Ruggerio Argilliano —  Latin SATB.SATB
• Jacques Barbireau —  Latin SATB
• Noel Bauldeweyn —  Latin STTTB
• Johannes Brassart —  Greek SAT
• George de Bruin —  Ancient Greek SSAATTBB
• Tomaso Cecchino —  Latin SATTB
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier —  Greek SATB
• Adrian Cuello —  Spanish SATB
• Christoph Dalitz —  Greek SATB
• Christoph Dalitz —  Greek SATB
• Ludwig Daser —  Greek SATTB
• Gaetano Donizetti —  Greek SATB
• John Dunstable —  Latin ATB
• Carl-Aage Eliasson —  Greek SSA
• Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch —  Greek SATB.SATB
• Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch —  Greek SATB.SATB.SATB.SATB
• Andrea Gabrieli —  Greek SATB.ATBB.ATBB
• Andrea Gabrieli —  Greek SATTB
• Giovanni Gabrieli —  Latin SATB.SATB.SATB
• Giovanni Gabrieli —  Latin SSAT.ATTB.TBBB
• Mariano Garau —  Latin STB
• Mariano Garau —  Latin SATB
• Mariano Garau —  Latin SBB
• Charles H. Giffen —  Greek SATB
• Charles Gounod —  Latin SSTTB
• Gregorian chant —  Greek Unison
• John Greutman —  Latin TBB
• Guymont —  Greek ATT
• John Hake —  Latin SSAT
• George Frideric Handel —  Greek SATB
• Oliver Hayes —  Ancient Greek SATB
• William Hayes —  Latin 3 equal voices
• Hyett —  Latin SATB
• Márton Jakobey —  Latin TTBB
• Michal Janošík —  Greek SATB
• Jacob Axel Josephson —  Latin TTBB
• Joseph Knapicius —  Latin SATB
• Pierre de la Rue —  Latin SATTB
• Éric Leroy —  Greek SATB
• Donato Liberatore —  Italian ST
• Reginald Libert —  Ancient Greek SST, STT
• Johan Lindegren —  Swedish SSATB
• Gonçalo Lourenço —  Latin SATB
• Matthieu Le Maistre —  Latin SSTTBB
• Frances Matthews —  2 SSAATTBB
• Felix Mendelssohn —  Ancient Greek SATB.SATB
• Felix Mendelssohn —  Latin SATB.SATB
• Nicolas Merques —  Greek STT
• Nicolas Merques —  Ancient Greek ATT
• Jorge Moreira —  Greek SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart —  Greek 5 equal voices
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart —  Latin SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart —  Greek SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart —  Latin SATB
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart —  Greek SATB
• John Mundy —  Greek SATB
• William Mundy —  Latin SSST, SAAT
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin TTB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• José Maurício Nunes Garcia —  Latin SATB
• Robert Okeland —  Latin SSAT
• Marbrianus de Orto —  Latin STTB
• Paolo Pandolfo —  Latin SATB
• Mogens Pedersøn —  2 SATTB
• Fabrizio Perone —  Greek ST
• Perrinet —  Latin TBB
• Markus Pfandler —  Greek SATBB
• Richard Quesnel —  Greek SA
• Josef Rheinberger —  Latin SATB
• Josef Rheinberger —  Latin SSATB
• Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck —  Latin SATB
• Rocco Rodio —  Greek SSATBB
• Johannes Roullet —  Greek SAT
• Erik Satie —  Latin SB
• Franz Schubert —  Latin SATB
• John Sheppard —  Latin SATTBB
• Vianney Sicard —  Latin SS
• Caleb Simper —  Greek SATB
• Heather Soderling —  Greek SATB
• Spierinck —  Ancient Greek SAT
• Simone Stella —  Greek 
• Simone Stella —  Ancient Greek SATB
• Joseph G. Stephens —  Latin SATB
• Remi Studer —  Latin SATB
• August Söderman —  Greek SATB
• Thomas Tallis —  Latin TTBB
• John Taverner —  Greek SATB
• Velthur Tognoni —  Greek SATB,SAATTB
• Christopher Tye —  Latin ATTB
• Francisco Valls —  Greek SSSAATT
• Scott Villard —  Latin SATB
• Antonio Vivaldi —  Greek SATB.SATB
• Laurentius Vorda —  Greek STTB
• Hugo Wilderer —  Greek SATB

Text and translations

Greek text Κύριε ελέησον. Χριστε ελέησον. Κύριε ελέησον. Latin transliteration Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Italian translation Signore, pietà. Cristo, pietà. Signore, pietà. Spanish translation Señor, ten piedad. Cristo, ten piedad. Señor, ten piedad. Portuguese translation Senhor, tende piedade de nós. Cristo, tende piedade de nós. Senhor, tende piedade de nós. Thai translation ข้าแต่พระเจ้า ทรงพระกรุณาเทอญ ข้าแต่พระคริสตเจ้า ทรงพระกรุณาเทอญ ข้าแต่พระเจ้า ทรงพระกรุณาเทอญ

English translation Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. German translation Herr, erbarme dich. Christus, erbarme dich. Herr, erbarme dich. Dutch translation Heer, ontferm U onzer. Christus, ontferm U onzer. Heer, ontferm U onzer. French translation Seigneur, prends pitié. Christ, prends pitié. Seigneur, prends pitié. Polish translation Panie, zmiłuj się nad nami. Chryste, zmiłuj się nad nami. Panie, zmiłuj się nad nami.

Chinese translation 上主，求你垂憐。 基督，求你垂憐。 上主，求你垂憐。 Hungarian translation Uram, irgalmazz! Krisztus, kegyelmezz! Uram, irgalmazz! Tagalog translation Panginoon, maawa Ka. Kristo, maawa Ka. Panginoon, maawa Ka. Vietnamese translation Xin Chúa thương xót chúng con. Xin Chúa Kitô thương xót chúng con. Xin Chúa thương xót chúng con. Danish translation Herre, forbarm dig over os Kriste, forbarm dig over os Herre, forbarm dig over os