Requiem Masses-very confused non-RC

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Becky

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Can somebody please explain what Requiem Masses are about? Coming from a non-RC background it is really confusing :confused:.

For example Verdi’s Requiem Mass is this:
  1. Requiem & Kyrie
  2. Dies irae
  3. Offertory
  4. Sanctus
  5. Agnus Dei
  6. Lux aeterna
I do know that a Requiem Mass is a mass for the dead, and I do recognise the some of the Latin. Do composers base these on Scripture verses???

Anyone reccommend a good book on Requiem Masses and how they are formed and set up by composers?

TIA

Becky 🙂
 
Requiem Masses were the old name for Masses for the Dead. Today, they are called Masses of the Resurrection. Priests are no longer required to wear black, but should wear purple. (In the US, they interpreted this to mean “white”).

No,those parts of the Mass you mentioned are some what based on Scripture. Other parts of the Mass are, such as the Introductory prayer, and other parts. The Dies Irae is a poem, some say composed by Bl Jacapone di Todi, a Franciscan Friar while he was in prision. It is the only Sequence in the first person. There used to be several Sequences, sung on Special Feasts.

I love Andrew Loyd Weber’s Requiem, especial the “Pie Jesu” part.
 
As noted, a Requiem Mass is a mass said for the dead. It is a particular liturgy in the old missals, used for a couple of feasts and as the mass preceding interment.

The more typical musical sequence used by composers from the baroque on was the Kyrie, Dies Irae, no Gloria, then the usual other sung prayers: Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.

The Manzoni Requiem of Verdi is a theater piece, and could not have been used for a mass. The best known “Requiem” based upon scripture is the German Requiem of Brahms. It, too, cannot be used as the normal sung parts of a mass (although there is nothing wrong with the individual pieces, of course), yet it is more devotional than the Verdi.
 
You wanna hear the BEST requiem Masses ever?! Both Gabriel FaurŽ and Maurice DuruflŽ wrote PHENOMINAL requiems that are quite suitable for liturgical use. There are organ/choir reductions of both scores for parishes that do not have the resources to offer up the Mass as scored for organ/orchestra/choir. There are sound clips of both requiems online. The FaurŽ is pretty spiffy, but I’m partial to the DuruflŽ because he wrote the most amazing settings of the chants used during the Requiem Mass. Every single movement just makes me break down and cry (particularly the DuruflŽ In Paradisum). There’s a great album put out by the Robert Shaw singers/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra that has both requiems on it and these recordings are superb. There are other recordings with the smaller organ/choir reductions that I appreciate as an organist, but for a good introduction to the two greatest requiems of all time, the Robert Shaw recording is the best way to go.

You can hear clips of the FuarŽ and DuruflŽ here: modperl.com:9000/Songs/Classical/Faure_Durufle/Requiem/

True, you only get 40 seconds for free… but hey. Better than nothing. I suggest logging onto Amazon or something and buying the Shaw album. No Catholic home should be without it.
 
Mike C:
Requiem Masses were the old name for Masses for the Dead. Today, they are called Masses of the Resurrection. Priests are no longer required to wear black, but should wear purple…
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It’s true that they are not required to wear black, but nowhere is it mandated or even strongly suggested that they wear purple!!! I want all black at my Requiem. And an open casket. lol Well, ok, I want it to be a Tridentine requiem, too… but still. Nothing says that the priest “must” or “should” wear purple.
 
Sorry for rambling a few posts back. I have come up with the answer to one of the original questions in the first post of this thread. The scriptural basis and text of the propers of the Requiem Mass are as follows:

Introit: (4 Esdras 2, 34, 35) Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Verse: (Psalm 64: 2,3) To You we owe our hymn of praise, O God in Sion: to You must vows be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to You all flesh must come.

Gradual: (4 Esdras 2, 34, 35) Eternal rest give to them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Verse (Psalm 111:7) The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance; an evil report he shall not fear.

Tract: Absolve, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from every bond of sin. Verse: And by the help of Your grace may they be enabled to escape the judgement of punishment

Offertory: O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the bottomless pit; deliver them from the lion’s mouth, that hell swallow them not up, that they fall not into darkness but let the holy standard-bearer, MIchael bring them into that holy light which You promised of old to Abraham and to his seed. Verse: We offer You, O Lord, sacrifices and prayers of praise; receive them in behalf of those souls we commemorate this day. Grant them, O Lord, to pass from death to that life which You promised of old to Abraham and to his seed.
 
Communion verse: (4 Esdras 2: 34, 35) May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord; with Thy Saints forever, for You are gracious. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them: with Your Saints forever, for You are gracious.

The Dies Irae is alread posted…

The responsory sung in place of the Last Gospel (this doesn’t exist in the Novus Ordo): “Deliver me, O Lord, from everlasting death on that day of terror: When the heavens and the earth will be shaken. As You come to judge the world by fire. Verse: I am in fear and trembling at the judgement and the wrath that is to come. When the heavens and the earth will be shaken. That day will be a day of wrath, of misery, and of ruin, a day of grandeur and great horror as you come to judge the world by fire. Eternal rest grant to them O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them”

And as the body was being carried out, the following was sung: “May the angels take you into paradise: may the martyrs come to welcome you on your way, and lead you into the holy city, Jerusalem. May the choir of angels welcome you, and with Lazarus who once was poor, may you have everlasting rest.”

–

Well ok, I lied. I didn’t post all the propers. Just the ones that are usually sung. LOL Pick up a 1962 Missal to see the prayers and stuff 😃
 
As a new Catholic, I am also confused about this. I have heard that one can have a priest conduct a mass for a departed relative, to ease their time/suffering in Purgatory. Is this still the teaching of the Church? If so, how does one go about doing this? Is it fairly common?
 
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boromir:
As a new Catholic, I am also confused about this. I have heard that one can have a priest conduct a mass for a departed relative, to ease their time/suffering in Purgatory. Is this still the teaching of the Church? If so, how does one go about doing this? Is it fairly common?
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I’m new, too, and I might be totally off-base about this but yes, you can have a priest say a Votive Mass with a special intention of yours in mind. It’s done during the week (and possibly Saturdays before the Vigil Mass. Not sure about that one), as Sunday Masses are parochial Masses and are offfered for the entire parish community. All you need to do is talk to your priest (preferably at a time when he’s not terribly busy!) and tell him the intention you would like him to offer the Mass for. This most certainly includes the intention of easing the suffering of the soul of a loved one in Purgatory!!! And if the soul of your dearly departed has already entered heaven, the graces of that Mass will be applied to another soul in Purgatory. Judging by the number of Masses offered for the dead in my parish, I would say it’s a faily common thing to do. In my opinion, it’s the best thing to do for our loved ones who have died.

If you’d like to have your priest offer a Mass for the soul of a loved one, just ask and he most certainly cannot refuse. It’s customary to pay the priest a 5 or 10 dollar stipend to say a Votice Mass with your intention in mind, but if you can’t afford that the priest will not deny you your right to have a Mass offered for a loved one. But do send him an e-card or something if that’s the case
😃
 
CatholicNerd, the best thing is actually to offer Masses for them (and yourself) before death, but after death Masses area also excellent.
 
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kman025:
CatholicNerd, the best thing is actually to offer Masses for them (and yourself) before death, but after death Masses area also excellent.
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You’re quite right. I just wrote the reply assuming that the person in question had already died.
 
Actualy you can have a Votive Mass said for a lot of reasons. Before surgery, for someone that is ill, to find a job etc.
 
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