Summary:
Choral requiems are more than just moving pieces of classical music. Requiem Masses offer prayers for the dead, and give solace to the living. This article outlines the history of the requiem, and how it affects us today.

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Requiem: Music for Those Left Behind

By Alison Braidwood

“Requiem Aeternam Dona Eis, Domine (Rest Eternal Grant unto Them, O Lord).”

These timeless words of comfort and redemption continue to echo through churches and concert halls across the globe. A Requiem Mass offers solace to the bereaved, a promise of redemption for the deceased, and touches the hearts of believers and non-believers alike.

Beyond praying for the soul of the departed, a requiem is meant to wrench the heartstrings. From Verdi’s rousing, operatic “Dies Irae”, to Faure’s haunting “O Domine”, to Brahms’ “For They Rest From Their Labors”, to Mozart’s “Lacrymosa” – the haunting, mournful beauty of this classic choral music is at once a lament and an exultation. Even people who aren’t religious and claim tone-deafness can be unexpectedly moved to tears by this powerful music.

For above all, the purpose of a requiem is to console those left behind.

Traditionally, the Requiem Mass is sung in Latin as part of the Roman Catholic liturgy. During a Requiem Mass the priest intercedes, through the act of communion, with God on the dead person’s behalf.

Today, the requiem repertoire has expanded beyond the confines of the Catholic Church. Requiems are sung in a range of languages, and accommodate a variety of faiths. These days, you’re more likely to hear a requiem in a concert hall than at a funeral, but that doesn’t diminish the music’s authority.

Death meant food on the table for many composers. From Bach to Brahms, Mozart to Charpentier, composers typically depended on the patronage of bishops, princes, kings, and nobles for their livelihoods. And what the great and good wanted was sacred music that would glorify God and the dearly departed while also pleasing the senses.

From the 1500s onward, if you wanted your music to be heard, the Royal Courts and the Church were pretty much the only game in town. Composers were the freelancers of their day; they certainly didn’t get rich, but they could eke out a living if they had the right contacts and some political savvy. Some composers, like Bach and Vivaldi, worked directly for the church; Bach as an organist, Vivaldi as a priest, and violinist. Others, like Mozart, had noble patrons who commissioned requiems, operas and concertos. Most of what we refer to today as “classical” music owes its existence to the patronage of some long-dead Pope, Archduke or Principessa.

When you next listen to a requiem, either at a funeral, a concert, or on your stereo, stop for a moment and think of those who have gone before. Remember loved ones who’ve passed on, but contemplate, too, the millions of souls from across the ages who listened to the same passage of music, felt the same surge of emotion, and let a requiem heal their hearts.

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Written by: Alison Braidwood
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