Thursday, May 2, 2013

In Paradisum from Gabriel Faure's Requiem

Many composers, (Mozart, Brahms, Verdi, Duruflé, Stravinsky, Britten)  have composed music for the Requiem mass, the mass for the dead. One of the most sublime was that composed by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) around 1887-1980.

The text of the final section, "In Paradisum"(starts around 32 minutes into the video below) describes the wishes of the grieving that the departed loved one be received by the martyrs and led into the holy city, Jerusalem.
The cadence (the term for the ending formula of a musical phrase) at around 33:15-33:27 minutes in is one of the most exquisite in all music, joined to the words, "sanctam Ierusalem"--Holy Jerusalem. The child of God has arrived at the City of God on the last day. There are not words to describe the feeling of pure bliss of homecoming that these brief measures of music and words create: a gift of God.

And I saw  the holy city,  new Jerusalem,  coming down out of heaven from God,  prepared  as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold,  the dwelling place  of God is with man. He will  dwell with them, and they will be his people,  and God himself will be with them as their God.   He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and  death shall be no more,  neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Rev. 21:2-4 (ESV).

The Latin and English texts:

In paradisum deducant te Angeli;
in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem.

Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem.

May the choir of angels lead you into paradise;
upon your arrival may the martyrs receive you
and lead you to the holy city, Jerusalem.

May the chorus of angels receive you,
and with Lazarus, who was once a poor man, may you have eternal rest.

No comments:

Post a Comment