Requiem

requiem (rĕk`wēəm, rē`–, rā`–) [Lat.,=rest], proper Mass for the souls of the dead, performed on All Souls' Day and at funerals. The reformation of Roman Catholic liturgy following the Second Vatican Council (see Vatican Council, Second) has modified the traditional requiem, and it is now called the Funeral Mass, Mass for the Dead, or Mass of Christian Burial. Black vestments are no longer required, white or purple may be worn, and flowers are permitted. The hymnody, while still solemn in tone, is often joyful and reflects hope in the resurrection and the service is conducted in the vernacular. Its peculiarities include omission of the Gloria, the creed, and the blessing of the people. The famous sequence, the Dies irae, is now optional. The opening words of the introit, "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them," echo through all the prayers for the dead. The traditional Gregorian musical setting of the requiem is quite beautiful; other requiem music has been written (e.g., by Mozart and Verdi), but it is not often heard in churches.

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Requiem

1. RC Church a Mass celebrated for the dead

2. a musical setting of this Mass

3. any piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person or persons

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Requiem

religious mass (music or spoken) for the dead. [Christianity: Payton, 568]

See : Death

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Requiem

(in Russian, panikhida,) a church funeral service. In Eastern Orthodoxy, it is conducted over the deceased before burial; on the third, ninth, 20th, and 40th day after death; on anniversaries of the death; and on the birthday and saint’s day of the deceased. Besides individual requiems for each deceased, the church conducts general or universal requiems on certain days.

Secular requiems comparable to church requiems have become widespread. They include a memorial service and procession, with an honor guard at the bier.

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Requiem

a funeral mass in memory of the deceased and for the repose of their souls. The requiem mass is distinguished from the ordinary Catholic mass by the omission of certain sections (the Gloria and the Credo), for which other sections are substituted (the Requiem in the beginning, followed by the Dies irae, Tuba mirum, and Lacrimosa, for example).

Requiems by 15th- and 16th-century composers were cyclic, polyphonic, a cappella choral works based on Gregorian chant melodies. In the 17th and 18th centuries the requiem became a major work for choir, soloists, and orchestra and, for the most part, lost its connection with Gregorian chant. Composers combined homophonic and harmonic with polyphonic expressive means. The most outstanding requiems acquired nonreligious significance and were, as a rule, performed in concert halls. Mozart’s Requiem (1791), which was completed by his pupil F. Süssmayr, achieved world fame.

During the 19th century, requiems were composed by L. Cherubini, F. Liszt, A. Bruckner, and A. Dvořák. The most outstanding 19th-century requiems were written by Berlioz (1837) and Verdi (1874). Brahms’ A German Requiem (1868), which has a German text, is of special significance.

Requiems have also been written by contemporary composers, including B. Britten, whose War Requiem combines a liturgical Latin text with poems by W. Owen. Soviet composers do not use liturgical texts in requiems (for example, D. B. Kaba-levskii’s Requiem for V. I. Lenin [the Symphony No. 3, 1933] and his Requiem in memory of the victims of fascism [1963]).

REFERENCE

Schnerich, A. Messe und Requiem seit Haydn und Mozart. Vienna-Leipzig, 1909.

B. V. LEVIK