Louis Chein was born in Paris in 1637. He joined the Sainte-Chapelle as a choirboy in 1645 and spent his entire career there. Of his works, only 4 masses dedicated to the Chapitre de la Sainte-Chapelle are extant. He died in 1694.

This beautifully crafted Mass for the Dead features 2 Graduals, one for Parisian use, the other for Roman use. The cantor’s intonations are all notated. Ballard’s original edition of 1690 presents this mass in void notation with the use of "ligatures" (beams), probably to give it an old-fashioned appearance. However, a copy survives that appears to have been used to make a score, the additions to which are reproduced in the present edition.

Published for 4 mixed voices without basso continuo, as in the original edition, the use of an organ as a basso continuo is nevertheless recommended; it could just as easily be sung by double choir or, transposed down a tone, by 4 male voices (haute-contre, taille, basse-taille, basse).