Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville

The Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville (Mass of the fishermen of Villerville) is a missa brevis written by Gabriel Fauré in collaboration with his former pupil André Messager. The composers worked together on the mass in the summer of 1881.

The sections of the mass run as follows:

1. Kyrie (Messager)
2. Gloria Benedictus (Fauré)
3. Sanctus (Fauré)
4. O Salutaris (Messager)
5. Agnus Dei (Fauré)

The first performance took place in Villerville on 4 September 1881 accompanied by a harmonium and a violin. The concert was in aid of the fishermen's charitable association. Messager orchestrated the first four sections, and Fauré the last. A second performance, this time accompanied by orchestra, was given in Villerville the following year.

In 1907 Heugel & Cie published a version of the mass, removing Messager's sections, and incorporating a new Kyrie by Fauré; this version appeared under the title Messe basse.