Chanting the Requiem

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord

When I was a youngster I attended a parochial school and in those old pre-Vatican II days every morning we attended Mass and every morning the Mass was chanted in Latin. We learned to sing the old Gregorian chants and sang along. Funeral masses were frequent and we learned to sing the old Missa pro Defunctis, the Mass for the Dead. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. That’s the Introit or entrance prayer of the Mass. You may have heard it yesterday at John Paul II’s funeral. Only then it was Requiem aeternam dona ei Domine—eternal rest grant unto him.

Et lux perpetua luceat eis
And may perpetual light shine upon them

When I was in my teens, twenties, and thirties (long after Vatican II, then), I learned nearly the whole Liber Usualis, the “Useful Book” that contains the old chants. I was fortunate enough to become good friends with a trained musician who really understood chant and taught me to appreciate it and love it, too. Later I sang with a pair of medievalists who gave me an even greater depth of understanding of the traditions and practice of the earliest Western music. When I worked as a church musician I struggled for years and years to keep all of the traditions of church music alive in our church. As long as I struggled I was successful but I suspect they’ve forgotten now and are strictly singing what The Anchoress referred to recently as “campfire songs”.

I think there’s a place for contemporary music in the liturgy but not as a sole diet anymore than I think that Marmallow Fluff would make a good sole diet. Most of you probably don’t know the physical impact that chant has when executed properly in settings that were designed for it. There’s a phenomenon that vocal musicians call “the vibes” when your very skull vibrates with the resonance of the music. When you’re singing with a group of skilled musicians that know what they’re doing and you’re singing in the proper setting, nothing produces “the vibes” like chant. It’s a truly transcendent experience. An experience of God.

Over the last few days I’ve heard and read some very unkind and hurrtful things about John Paul II and the Catholic Church. The expense. The ritual. Child sexual abuse by the clergy. Married clergy. Whore of Babylon. Opus Dei. Ordination of women. Suppression of Liberation Theology. The list goes on and on. A little of the criticism I actually agreed with. But there is a time and place for everything and this was the time for us to wish our beloved friend God speed. So forgive us the little ritual and the pittance that was spent on seeing the leader of our Church for more than 25 years off appropriately. If you don’t like it, turn off your television.

Meanwhile I’ll listen to the chant.