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For other uses, see Requiem (disambiguation).

The Requiem (from the Latin requiés, rest) or Requiem Mass, also known formally (in Latin) as the Missa pro defunctis or Missa defunctorum, is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Anglican "High" Church and certain Lutheran Churches in the United States. There is also a requiem, with a wholly different ritual form and texts, that is observed in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. The common theme of requiems is prayer for the salvation of the soul(s) of the departed, and it is used both at services immediately preceding a burial, and on occasions of more general remembrance.

"Requiem" is also the title of various musical compositions used in such liturgical services or as concert pieces as settings of the portions of that Mass which have been traditionally sung in the Roman Catholic liturgy. (A version of the complete liturgy for the Requiem can be found at [1].)

While the prayers in the regular Mass as the Introit and Gradual change according to the Calendar of Saints, the text for the requiem Mass is particularly fixed. Originally such funeral musical compositions were meant to be performed in liturgical service, with monophonic chant. Eventually the dramatic character began to appeal to composers to an extent that made the requiem a genre of its own.

The Roman Catholic Liturgy

This use of the word requiem comes from the opening words of the Introit: Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. (Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.) The requiem Mass differs from the ordinary Mass in omitting certain joyful passages such as the Gloria, Credo, and Alleluia, and by the addition of the sequence Dies Iræ.

The regular texts of the musical portions to be found in the Roman Catholic liturgy are the following:

  • Introit:
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem. Exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
(“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn becometh thee, O God, in Zion, and unto thee a vow shall be repaid in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; unto thee all flesh shall come. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”)
  • Kyrie eleison, as the Kyrie the Ordinary of the Mass:
Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison (Κυριε ελεησον; Χριστε ελεησον; Κυριε ελεησον).
This is Greek for “Lord have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.” Traditionally, each utterance is sung three times.
  • Gradual:
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine; In memoria æterna erit justus, ab auditione mala non timebit.
(“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. He shall be justified in everlasting memory, and shall not fear evil reports.”)
  • Tract:
Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omno vinculo delictorum et gratia tua illis succurente mereantur evadere iudicium ultionis, et lucis æterne beatitudine perfrui.
(“Forgive, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from all the chains of their sins and may they deserve to avoid the judgment of revenge by your fostering grace, and enjoy the everlasting blessedness of light.”)
  • Sequence:
Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
(“Day of wrath, a day that the world will dissolve in ashes, as foretold by David and the Sibyl.”) (See Dies Iræ for full text)
  • Offertory:
Domine, Iesu Christe, Rex gloriæ, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de pœnis inferni et de profundo lacu. Libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum; sed signifer sanctus Michæl repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini ejus.
(“Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, free the souls of all the faithful departed from infernal punishment and the deep pit. Free them from the mouth of the lion; do not let Tartarus swallow them, nor let them fall into darkness; but may the sign-bearer, Saint Michael, lead them into the holy light which you promised to Abraham and his seed.”)
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus; tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini ejus.
(“O Lord, we offer you sacrifices and prayers in praise; accept them on behalf of the souls whom we remember today. Make them pass over from death to life, as you promised Abraham and his seed.”)
  • Sanctus, as the Sanctus prayer in the Ordinary of the Mass:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Domine Deus Sabaoth; pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
(“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory”).
Hosanna in excelsis.
(“Hosanna in the highest”).
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
(“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”).
Hosanna in excelsis. (reprise)
  • Agnus Dei, text as the Agnus Dei in the Ordinary of the Mass, but with the petitions miserere nobis changed to dona eis requiem, and dona nobis pacem to dona eis requiem sempiternam:
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
(“Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest, … grant them rest eternal.”).
  • Communion:
Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis.
(“May everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with thy saints in eternity, for thou art merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them.”)

As with penitential seasons for the regular Mass, the Gloria (from the Ordinary) and Alleluia (from the Proper) are omitted in the Requiem as well, as these are viewed as being overly joyful texts (the Alleluia being replaced by the Tract). Likewise, the Credo (sometimes omitted from the Ordinary of the Mass) is not used in the Requiem. The Dies iræ was rendered optional in the Requiem in 1967 and was omitted from the revised Mass altogether in 1969; at the same time, the Alleluia was added to funerals outside Lent.

Musical compositions

For many centuries the texts of the requiem were sung to Gregorian melodies. The Requiem by Johannes Ockeghem, written sometime in the latter half of the 15th century, is the earliest surviving polyphonic setting. There was a setting by the elder composer Dufay, possibly earlier, which is now lost: Ockeghem's may have been modelled on it.[1] Many early requiems employ different texts that were in use in different liturgies around Europe before the Council of Trent set down the texts given above. The requiem of Brumel, circa 1500, is the first to include the Dies Iræ. In the early polyphonic settings of the Requiem, there is considerable textural contrast within the compositions themselves: simple chordal or fauxbourdon-like passages are contrasted with other sections of contrapuntal complexity, such as in the Offertory of Ockeghem's Requiem.[2]

In the 16th century, more and more composers set the Requiem mass. In contrast to practice in setting the Mass Ordinary, many of these settings used a cantus-firmus technique, something which had become quite archaic by mid-century. In addition, these settings used less textural contrast than the early settings by Ockeghem and Brumel, although the vocal scoring was often richer, for example in the six-voice Requiem by Jean Richafort which he wrote for the death of Josquin des Prez.[3] Other composers who wrote Requiems before 1550 include Pedro de Escobar, Antoine de Févin, Cristóbal Morales, and Pierre de La Rue; that by La Rue is probably the second oldest, after Ockeghem's.

Over 2,000 requiems have been composed to the present day. Typically the Renaissance settings, especially those not written on the Iberian Peninsula, may be performed a cappella (i.e. without necessary accompanying instrumental parts), whereas beginning around 1600 composers more often preferred to use instruments to accompany a choir, and also include vocal soloists. There is great variation between compositions in how much of liturgical text is set to music.

Most composers omit sections of the liturgical prescription, most frequently the Gradual and the Tract. Fauré and Duruflé omit the Dies iræ, while the very same text had often been set by French composers in previous centuries as a stand-alone work.

Sometimes composers divide an item of the liturgical text into two or more movements; because of the length of its text, the Dies iræ is the most frequently divided section of the text (as with Mozart, for instance). The Introit and Kyrie, being immediately adjacent in the actual Roman Catholic liturgy, are often composed as one movement.

Musico-thematic relationships among movements of Requiems can be found as well.

Added movements

Some settings contain additional texts, such as the devotional motet Pie Jesu (in the settings of Dvořák, Fauré, Duruflé, and Lloyd Webber—Fauré set it as a soprano solo in the center). Libera me (from the Absolution) and In paradisum (from the burial service, which in the case of a funeral follows after the Mass) conclude some compositions. Other added movements have been composed as well, such as the English Psalms Out of the Deep and The Lord is My Shepherd included in John Rutter's setting.

Libera me

Libera me, Domine, de morte æterna, in die illa tremenda, quando coeli movendi sunt et terra, dum veneris iudicare sæculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego et timeo, dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira. Dies illa, dies iræ, calamitatis, et miseriæ, dies magna et amara valde. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
("Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that fearful day, when the heavens and the earth are moved, when you will come to judge the world with fire. I am made to tremble and I fear, because of the judgment that will come, and also the coming wrath. That day, day of wrath, calamity, and misery, day of great and exceeding bitterness. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.")

In paradisum

In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
("May angels lead you into Paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.")

Pie Jesu

The Pie Jesu combines and paraphrases of the final verse of the Dies irae and the Agnus Dei.

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Dona eis requiem sempiternam.
("O sweet Lord Jesus, grant them rest; grant them everlasting rest.")

Concert requiems

Beginning in the 18th century and continuing through the 19th, many composers wrote what are effectively concert requiems, which by virtue of employing forces too large, or lasting such a considerable duration, prevent them being readily used in an ordinary funeral service; the requiems of Gossec, Berlioz, Verdi, and Dvořák are essentially dramatic concert oratorios. A counter-reaction to this tendency came from the Cecilian movement, which recommended restrained accompaniment for liturgical music, and frowned upon the use of operatic vocal soloists.

Non-Roman Catholic requiems

Requiem is also used to describe any sacred composition that sets to music religious texts which would be appropriate at a funeral, or to describe such compositions for liturgies other than the Roman Catholic Mass.

Among the earliest examples of this type are the German requiems composed in the 17th century by Heinrich Schütz and Michael Praetorius, whose works are Lutheran adaptations of the Catholic requiem, and which provided inspiration for the mighty German Requiem by Brahms. A rather exhaustive list of requiem composers can be found on this site.

Such requiems would include:

Jewish Mourners' Kaddish

Main article: Kaddish

The Mourners' Kaddish is said as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services as well as at funerals and memorials. When mention is made of "saying Kaddish", this unambiguously denotes the rituals of mourning.

The opening words of this prayer are inspired by Ezekiel 38:23, a vision of God becoming great in the eyes of all the nations. The central line of the kaddish in Jewish tradition is the congregation's response "May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity", a public declaration of God's greatness and eternality.

The first mention of mourners saying Kaddish at the end of the service is in a thirteenth century halakhic writing called the Or Zarua. The Kaddish at the end of the service became designated as Kaddish Yatom or Mourners' Kaddish (literally, "Orphan's Kaddish").[4]

Eastern Orthodox Requiem

Main article: Memorial service (Orthodox)

In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches, the requiem is the fullest form of memorial service (Greek: Parastas, Slavonic: Panikhida). The normal memorial service is a greatly abbreviated form of Matins, but the Requiem contains all of the psalms, readings, and hymns normally found the All-Night Vigil (which combines the Canonical Hours of Vespers, Matins and First Hour), providing a complete set of propers for the departed. The full requiem will last around three and a half hours. In this format it more clearly represents the original concept of parastas, which means literally, "standing throughout (the night)." Often, there will be a Divine Liturgy celebrated the next morning with further propers for the departed.

Because of their great length, full requiems are rarely served. However, at least in the Russian liturgical tradition, a Requiem will often be served on the eve before the Glorification (canonization) of a saint, in a special service known as the "Last Panikhida."

Anglican burial service

The Anglican Book of Common Prayer contains seven texts which are collectively known as "funeral sentences"; several composers have written settings of these seven texts, which are generally known collectively as a "burial service." Composers who have set the Anglican burial service to music include Thomas Morley, Orlando Gibbons, and Henry Purcell. The text of these seven sentences, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, is:

  • I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
  • I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shalt stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.
  • We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.
  • Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.
  • In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.
  • Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears to our prayer; but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, thou most worthy judge eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee.
  • I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit: for they rest from their labours.

20th century developments

In the 20th century the requiem evolved in several new directions. The genre of war requiems is perhaps the most notable, which comprise of compositions dedicated to the memory of people killed in wartime. These often include extra-liturgical poems of a pacifist or non-liturgical nature; for example, the War Requiem of Benjamin Britten juxtaposes the Latin text with the poetry of Wilfred Owen, and Robert Steadman's Mass in Black intersperses environmental poetry and prophecies of Nostradamus. The several Holocaust requiems may be regarded as a specific subset of this type.

Lastly, the 20th century saw the development of secular requiems, written for public performance without specific religious observance (e.g., Kabalevsky's War Requiem, to poems by Robert Rozhdestvensky). Herbert Howells's unaccompanied Requiem uses Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd"), Psalm 121 ("I will lift up mine eyes"), "Salvator mundi" ("O Saviour of the world," in English), "Requiem aeternam" (two different settings), and "I heard a voice from heaven." Some composers have written purely instrumental works bearing the title of requiem, as exemplified by the most famous of these, Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem. Igor Stravinsky's Requiem canticles mixes instrumental movements with segments of the "Introit," "Dies irae," "Pie Jesu," and "Libera me."

Famous Requiems

See also: Requiems

Many composers have written Requiems. Some of the most famous include:

Other Requiem composers

Renaissance

Baroque

Classical period

Romantic era

Post-romantic/20th century

New Era |21st century

Requiems by language (other than purely Latin)

English with Latin

German

French, English, German with Latin

Polish with Latin

Russian

  • The Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth has a song named "Requiem" on their 1995 album "Orchid".
  • Jethro Tull has a song named Requiem on their album Minstrel in the Gallery.
  • Alexander Borodin composed a "Requiem" piece for the collaborative piano work Paraphrases, which is a set of pieces based on the theme commonly known as Chopsticks.
  • In a parody of a medieval geisslerlied, the monks in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail chant the Dies irae while striking themselves with their books.
  • "Requiem of Spirit" was a song in the popular Nintendo 64 video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
  • Requiem for a Dream was a novel written by Hubert Selby, Jr. and was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film (2000).
  • Jesper Kyd is a popular composer who has composed Requiem songs for many videogames. The Hitman (computer game series) series being among the most popular.
  • Requiem is the name of the last mission in the videogame "Hitman: Blood Money"
  • In 1983 Pink Floyd released an album called The Final Cut. The album's secondary title was "A Requiem for the Post-War dream".
  • At Your Funeral was a song by Saves the Day on their album Stay What You Are, in the song they use the lyrics "At your funeral I will sing the requiem"
  • "Requiem" is one of the most popular tracks by the British Hard Dance act, Lab 4
  • "Requiem for the Masses" performed by The Association, composed by Terry Kirkman. Originally written as a tribute to boxer Davey Moore, it became an anti-war song. Includes choir chants of "Requiem aeternam", "Rex tremendae maiestatis" and "Kyrie eleison".
  • "Requiem for a Sinner" is the opening track on the 1977 album World Anthem by Canadian hard rock band Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, and most fans consider it to be one of their best songs.
  • 'Requiem' is a superweapon in the anime series Gundam SEED Destiny
  • In 2006 the Emanuel Gat Dance company from Israel began performing K626, a modern dance work set to Mozart's requiem, and named after the composition's Köchel catalogue number.
  • "Requiem" is used as an overdrive for the character Seymour Guado in the roleplaying game Final Fantasy X
  • "Requiem" is a short musical verse in the videogame Ace Combat 04. It is normally played after the player has been shot down, crashed, or has failed a mission
  • "Requiem" is the title of the upcoming, debut album from Hip-Hop artist One-Way.
  • Doom metal band Silentium has a song named "Requiem" on their 1999 album Infinita Plango Vulnera.
  • Requiem is a Pokemon; Duskull, in the Pokemon game series.
  • The German Power Metal band Blind Guardian has made a song called "Script For My Requiem".
  • Requiem is the name of a zweihander belonging to the character Siegfried in Soul Calibur 3.
  • In the introduction of the song "Phantom Stranger" by Rob Zombie, the Latin Requiem can be heard.
  • Requiem is the name of an anarcho-punk/hardcore band from North Carolina featuring former members of Catharsis and current members of Ümlaut. Their first record, Storm Heaven, was released in 2005 on CrimethInc.
  • Requiem is a Death Metal Band from Switzerland
  • Metal band Trivium had a song titled "Requiem" on their debut album, Ember to Inferno
  • "The Sound of Reqiem" is the first track of an album of the same name by British Folk group Tiny Tin Lady.
  • Ao no Requiem (Blue Requiem) is the opening song to the anime series, Samurai Deeper Kyo
  • The soundtrack to anime series, Trinity Blood, has a track called Requiem~Inori (Requiem~Prayer) which was played near the end of the series.
  • Ambient Drone band Stars of the Lid have a two part song called "Requiem for Dying Mothers" on their album, 'Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid'
  • There is a family of sharks commonly named as the Requiem sharks, or scientifically known as Carcharhinidae.
  • Requiem is a song by the metal band "Lamb of God" on their Sacrament album.
  • "Closed Casket Requiem" is a song by the hardcore metal band "The Black Dahlia Murder".
  • Requiem is the closing section in Arthur Miller's famous play, Death of a Salesman.
  • "Requiem for a city", by Mike Oldfield, is the second track of the soundtrack to the movie The Killing Fields.
  • Post-Hardcore band I AM GHOST have an album titled Lover's Requiem.
  • In the AFI song 'Story at Three' Davey Havok can be heard screaming the word 'Requiem'
  • "Electric Requiem" is a song on Queensryche's 1989 Operation: Mindcrime CD.

References and further reading

  • Fabrice Fitch: "Requiem (2)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed January 21, 2007), (subscription access)

Notes

  1. ^ Fabrice Fitch, Grove, "Requiem"
  2. ^ Fitch, Grove
  3. ^ Fitch, Grove
  4. ^ Jewish Virtual Library, "Mourner's Kaddish" by Shira Schoenberg, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/kaddish.html. Accessed on 3-27-2007.

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
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