Survey: Which Requiem Mass is the Greatest?

Dear John Rutter,

Of course today, I say your requiem is best, for I have heard live at my own church.

But there are so many wonderful Requiems out there, and I have rattled on about them many times.

My surveys don't usually gather many participants (sadly), so this time I decided to join with a survey that someone else is successfully conducting and simply report their results here.

To vote for your favorite requiem mass, go here. Vote in the little yellow and blue box on the left. Someone who is interested can learn lots about requiems at that site, including yours, Mr. Rutter.

What I enjoyed about hearing the requiem in church was that it wasn't a show. We followed the piece through the service of worship. That is what it is about, and I would enjoy worshiping this way every single week, though I understand why choirs might resist. Even one full mass per year demands an inordinate amount of rehearsal.

But oh, it is so worth it. My favorite moment was when I found myself on my knees waiting to be served the Eucharist. It is such a beggarly moment each week, acceding to reality. And that was when your Agnus Dei broke upon my heart.

After the service, I chatted with one of the sopranos about the difficulty of singing this piece because the time signature keep changing from 4/4 to 2/4 to 3/4.



But it was not that brought me to tears, on my knees, as I received the body and blood of Jesus Christ. (Listen round about minute 3:20 and following.) It was not the drum, drum, drum, drum of the typany. It was not the critical blare of the brass. Or yes, yes it was that of course, partly. But more, it was the truth of those words:

"Whom may I seek for succour, whom may I seek for succour, whom? Agnus Dei, qui tollis pecatta mundi. Yes, in the midst of life, we are in death, but you are the resurrection and the life."

So, John, I don't really know who has written the best of the requiem masses, but I do know this: My soul is touched by this music that celebrates not death, but the life that rises from the death we experience in this life.

BRD

Tenebrae

Dear fellow travelers through the season of lent,

The days that end the season of lent are dark ones. Dark indeed.

There is a service that is designed to express our reaction to that darkness. It is called Tenebrae, the Latin word for darkness or shadow. The experience is moving. The church hall is lighted only by candles.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent. --Psalm 22

As scripture is read, one by one, the candles are extinguished until only one white candle is lighted, the Christ candle. Then, that one also is damped.



At the end of this service, all file out quietly, with our thoughts and hearts crying for mercy.

Pie Jesus Domine

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem,
Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them rest,

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem,
Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them rest,

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem, sempiternam.
Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis pecatta mundi:
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

dona eis requiem.
grant them rest.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

dona eis requiem.
grant them rest.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

dona eis requiem sempiternam.
grant them eternal rest.

BRD