Why was the Dies Irae removed from the Requiem Mass in the Ordinary Form?

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hudson said:
Thank Annibale Bugnini. He stated this:

They got rid of texts that smacked of a negative spirituality inherited from the Middle Ages. Thus they removed such familiar and even beloved texts as the Libera me, Domine, the Dies Iræ, and others that overemphasized judgment, fear, and despair. These they replaced with texts urging Christian hope and arguably giving more effective expression to faith in the resurrection.
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I’m not usually one to jump on the bash Bugnini band wagon, and it is true that in this case that he was only referring to the reforms of the Concilium and not anything he personally did, but the idea that the Dies Irae doesn’t “urge Christian hope” is just the worst kind of misrepresentation. The Dies Irae is profoundly filled with hope. Of course, it begins discussing the frankly scary nature of the Last Judgement, but it develops into a very Christian plea for Jesus’ mercy and consolation despite the circumstances. And what exactly did they replace the Dies Irae and the Libera Me with that gives “more effective expression to faith in the resurrection”?
 
OraLabora said:
Just in case some think the Dies Irae has been removed from the liturgy, it has not. It has been removed from the requiem Mass. However, it is still the official Latin hymn for the Divine Office for the 34th week of Ordinary Time; it is split into three sections at Vigils, Lauds and Vespers, with a newly-composed doxology added to the end of each section.
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Although true, that’s about as close as you can get to removing it from the liturgy.
Paxvobis said:
And what exactly did they replace the Dies Irae and the Libera Me with that gives “more effective expression to faith in the resurrection”?
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The Sequence was simply removed (almost no other Masses have any Sequence at all); thankfully they didn’t try to come up with a substitute. As for the Libera me, it was never actually part of the Mass but was to be said after Mass, and only in the even that an “Absolution” was being done – thus not at memorial requiems and so on. I don’t know of anything that prevents its being done after Mass in the modern form, though perhaps I’m missing something.
 
MarkThompson said:
According to that, the thanks belong not to Abp. Bugnini, but to the cardinals and bishops who comprised the Consilium. Fortunately, we have records about those times, like Bugnini’s book, unlike the Consilium that Pius V appointed after Trent to write the Missale Romanum, which stripped out and junked literally hundreds of Sequences from the Mass (even the Stabat Mater(!), which Pope Benedict XIII at last restored in 1727).

Neither Thomas à Celano, nor W.A. Mozart, nor F.X. Sussmayr was a Protestant.

As to favorite settings of the Dies Irae, Mozart’s is indeed great (though far too overblown and more suited for a music hall than the sacred liturgy), but for a pure vocal setting my vote goes to G.F. Anerio. You can’t find the whole thing online, but if you go here and click on the musical notes next to “Movement 3, Sequentia” you should get a little player at the bottom left that will play the first verse or two. His whole Requiem is fantastic.
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You are indeed correct about Mozart’s faith, sir. I was thinking of his Masonry, I suppose, although of course Catholics can just as well be Masons as Protestants can.

Don’t agree, necessarily, about “overblown” but that could be a matter of taste. In the sections written entirely or almost entirely by Mozart, which at least includes the Introitus, there are passages of exquisite tenderness, and his mastery of vocal and instrumental counterpoint rival Bach. This is doubly impressive, considering how late in his career Mozart is said to have seriously studied Bach.

As far as the Dies Irae yes, I would say it is kind of over the top. But then that is the point, isn’t it? To frighten the listener into repentance!

Although my personal favorite recordings of the Requiem are by the Academy of Saint Martin’s in the Field, here is a clip of Bernstein conducting the Dies Irae, just for fun- I believe it was part of a number of performances worldwide marking the bicentennial of Mozart’s death: youtube.com/watch?v=7YqppQ9neU4

I will check out the Anerio Sequentia Movement- thanks for the tip!
Pax et Bonum
 
Faithdancer said:
I was thinking of his Masonry, I suppose, although of course Catholics can just as well be Masons as Protestants can.
Pax et Bonum
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I’m not sure about Protestants, but Catholics are forbidden to join Masonic lodges:
Declaration on Masonic Associations (Quaesitum est)
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English Translation of a Latin Document from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith November 26, 1983
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It has been asked whether there has been any change in the Church’s decision in regard to Masonic associations since the new Code of Canon Law does not mention them expressly, unlike the previous code.
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This sacred congregation is in a position to reply that this circumstance is due to an editorial criterion which was followed also in the case of other associations likewise unmentioned inasmuch as they are contained in wider categories.
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Therefore, the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic associations remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and, therefore, membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful, who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave
sin and may not receive Holy Communion.
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It is not within the competence of local ecclesiastical authorities to give a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations which would imply a derogation from what
has been decided above, and this in line with the declaration of this sacred congregation issued Feb. 17,1981. [1]
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In an audience granted to the undersigned cardinal prefect, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II approved and ordered the publication of this declaration which had
been decided in an ordinary meeting of this sacred congregation.
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Rome, from the Office of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Nov. 26, 1983
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Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect
Father Jerome Hamer, O.P. Titular Archbishop of Lorium, Secretary
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  1. Cf. AAS 73 (1981) pp. 240-241.
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I’m sure you were aware of that, Faithdancer, but I thought it prudent to remind the casual reader.
 
Faithdancer said:
You are indeed correct about Mozart’s faith, sir. I was thinking of his Masonry, I suppose, although of course Catholics can just as well be Masons as Protestants can.

Pax et Bonum
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I was brought up to believe Masonry is outright Satanic and a big no-no.
 
TrueLight said:
I was brought up to believe Masonry is outright Satanic and a big no-no.
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The church teaches that it is not possible to be Catholic and a Mason, but unfortunately many Catholics do not care to listen and don’t take it seriously. Mozart was definitely Catholic but very possibly became a Mason at one point in life. Sad.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
The church teaches that it is not possible to be Catholic and a Mason, but unfortunately many Catholics do not care to listen and don’t take it seriously. Mozart was definitely Catholic but very possibly became a Mason at one point in life. Sad.
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jmj1984 said:
:clapping:

That is indeed the teaching of The Church.
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I found out two things about my deceased father.
– Years ago, after he died, I found out he had been a mason
– just a few months ago, I found out he had also been a Catholic
 
I understand tangents, but this thread seems to have been derailed. If folks want to discuss Masons, maybe a new thread would be in order?

Just MHO.
 
DAAVEED1590 said:
youtube.com/watch?v=Dlr90NLDp-0&feature=BFa&list=PL3FCE7263FE01B0BD&index=16

At least its on youtube:thumbsup:

but I agree, I wish it remained in the OF. Just because some people have short attention spans dosent mean we should get rid of this epic, beautiful chant.

I think it is still present in the Requiem Mass of the EF, right?
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That sounds beautiful. I had only heard the Dies Irae in polyphonic compositions by the great composers: Mozart, Faure, etc.

Edited: I had to post this video posted by a monk. Absolutely beautiful.

Requiem Aeternam- Brother Death Visits our Monastery
 
TrueLight said:
That sounds beautiful. I had only heard the Dies Irae in polyphonic compositions by the great composers: Mozart, Faure, etc.
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Those are not polyphonic; they are homophonic orchestral thingies. This is what then-Patriarch Sarto of Venice (later Pope St. Pius X) was complaining about in his 1895 pastoral letter to his archdiocese, when he wrote: '[T]he music for the Church is, strictly speaking, purely vocal music… As the singing should have the principal place, the organ or orchestra should merely sustain it and never smother it" – quite the opposite of the theory, as Faithdancer proposes above, that the orchestra ought to be “over the top . . . [t]o frighten the listener into repentance!” (Is that even the theological or liturgical function of a Mass for the repose of a deceased’s soul, anyway?)
Edited: I had to post this video posted by a monk. Absolutely beautiful.

Requiem Aeternam- Brother Death Visits our Monastery
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The Salve Regina is always nice, and this is a beautiful recording, though it is unconnected with the Requiem as such.
 
TrueLight said:
I found out two things about my deceased father.
– Years ago, after he died, I found out he had been a mason
– just a few months ago, I found out he had also been a Catholic
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Wow. That’s a lot going on.
 
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