A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead (Latin: Missa pro

defunctis) or Mass of the dead (Latin: Missa defunctorum), is a Mass in the

Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased
persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is usually, but not
necessarily, celebrated in the context of a funeral.

Musical settings of the propers of the Requiem Mass are also called Requiems, and
the term has subsequently been applied to other musical compositions associated
with death, dying, and mourning, even when they lack religious or liturgical
relevance.

The term is also used for similar ceremonies outside the Roman Catholic Church,
especially in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism and in certain Lutheran
churches. A comparable service, with a wholly different ritual form and texts,
exists in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as in the
Methodist Church.[1]

The Mass and its settings draw their name from the introit of the liturgy, which
begins with the words "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine" � "Grant them eternal
rest, O Lord". ("Requiem" is the accusative singular form of the Latin noun
requies, "rest, repose".) The Roman Missal as revised in 1970 employs this phrase
as the first entrance antiphon among the formulas for Masses for the dead, and it
remains in use to this day.
Contents

1 Liturgical rite
1.1 Post�Vatican II
2 Requiem in other rites and churches
2.1 Eastern Christian rites
2.2 Anglicanism
3 Music
3.1 History of musical compositions
3.1.1 Requiem in concert
3.2 Notable compositions
3.3 Modern treatments
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links

Liturgical rite
Traditional Requiem Mass, Chiesa della Santissima Trinit� dei Pellegrini, Rome
(Church of the Most Holy Trinity of Pilgrims)

In earlier forms of the Roman Rite, some of which are still in use, a Requiem Mass
differs in several ways from the usual Mass in that form. Some parts that were of
relatively recent origin, including some that have been excluded in the 1970
revision, are omitted. Examples are the psalm Iudica at the start of Mass, the
prayer said by the priest before reading the Gospel (or the blessing of the deacon,
if a deacon reads it), and the first of the two prayers of the priest for himself
before receiving Communion.[2] Other omissions include the use of incense at the
Introit and the Gospel, the kiss of peace, lit candles held by acolytes when a
deacon chants the Gospel, and blessings. There is no Gloria in excelsis Deo and no
recitation of the Creed; the Alleluia chant before the Gospel is replaced by a
Tract, as in Lent; and the Agnus Dei is altered. Ite missa est is replaced with
Requiescant in pace (May they rest in peace); the "Deo gratias" response is
replaced with "Amen". Black is the obligatory liturgical colour of the vestments in
the earlier forms, while the later form allows a choice between black and violet,
and in some countries, such as England and Wales, white.[3] The sequence Dies irae,
recited or sung between the Tract and the Gospel, is an obligatory part of the
Requiem Mass before the Novus Ordo changes. As its opening words Dies irae ("day of
wrath") indicate, this poetic composition speaks of the Day of Judgment in fearsome
terms; it then appeals to Jesus for mercy. In the pre-Novus Ordo form,
commemorations (i.e., collect, secret, and postcommunion of either lower-ranking
liturgical feasts that occur on the same day or votive/seasonal commemorations) are
absent from the liturgy; as a result, it is standard practice for a separate,
smaller Requiem Missal containing only the rubrics and various Mass formularies for
Masses for the dead to be used, rather than the full Missal containing texts that
will never be used at Requiems.
Post�Vatican II
Black vestments used in Requiem Masses, from St Pancras Church, Ipswich

In the liturgical reforms of the mid-20th century in the Roman Catholic Church
following the Novus Ordo Second Vatican Council, there was a significant shift in
the funeral rites used by the Church. The emphasis on sorrow and grief was to be
replaced by one which also includes the whole community's worship of God and in
which the deceased is entrusted to God's love, based on trust in the salvific value
of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.[4]

The term "Requiem Mass" was often replaced by the term "Mass of the
Resurrection"[5] or Mass of Christian Burial, although the former was never
official terminology. In the official English ritual, Order of Christian Funerals,
published by the Roman Catholic Bishops of England and Wales in 1990, the title is
given as "Funeral Mass". Requiem Mass remains a suitable title for other Masses for
the dead and for the Funeral Mass itself, (as the proper antiphons remain in force,
Introit -"Eternal rest grant..."/"Requiem �ternam dona eis Domine", Offertory:
"Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful
departed..."/"Domine Iesu Christe, Rex glori�, libera animas...", Communion:"Let
perpetual light shine..."/"Lux �terna luceat eis, Domine..."), although the propers
are more honored in the breach than in the observance. In line with this shift, the
use of black vestments was made optional by the second Vatican Council (and had
mostly disappeared by the late 20th century, at least in the United States,
although their use is seeing a resurgence), with the preference of many being for
white, (the use of which is an indult for some countries, not part of the universal
rubrics) the color of joy associated with Easter, or purple, for a muted version of
mourning. The texts used for the service offered a similar change, with more
options for the readings, some of which reinforce an overall theme of the promise
of eternal life made by Jesus.[6]
Requiem in other rites and churches

Requiem is also used to describe any sacred composition that sets to music
religious texts which would be appropriate at a funeral, or to describe such
compositions for liturgies other than the Roman Catholic Mass. Among the earliest
examples of this type are the German settings composed in the 17th century by
Heinrich Sch�tz and Michael Praetorius, whose works are Lutheran adaptations of the
Roman Catholic requiem, and which provided inspiration for the mighty German
Requiem by Brahms.[7]

Such works include:

Greek Orthodox Church�Parastas

Russian Orthodox Church�Panikhida
Anglican (English) Requiem

Eastern Christian rites

Main article: Memorial service (Orthodox)

In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches, the requiem is the fullest
form of memorial service (Greek: Parastas, Slavonic: ?p?l?). The normal memorial
service is a greatly abbreviated form of Matins, but the Requiem contains all of
the psalms, readings, and hymns normally found in the All-Night Vigil (which
combines the Canonical Hours of Vespers, Matins and First Hour), providing a
complete set of propers for the departed. The full requiem will last around three-
and-a-half hours. In this format it more clearly represents the original concept of
parastas, which means literally, "standing throughout (the night)." Often, there
will be a Divine Liturgy celebrated the next morning with further propers for the
departed.

Because of their great length, a full Requiem is rarely served. However, at least
in the Russian liturgical tradition, a Requiem will often be served on the eve
before the Glorification (canonization) of a saint, in a special service known as
the "Last Panikhida".
Anglicanism
The Book of Common Prayer contained no Requiem Mass, but instead a service named
"The Order for the Burial of the Dead". Since the liturgical reform movement,
provision has been made for a Eucharist to be celebrated at a funeral in various
BCPs used in the 33 Provinces of the Anglican Communion. Prior to these additions,
Anglo-Catholics or High Church Anglicans often incorporate parts of the Roman
Catholic Requiem Mass as part of a funeral service�typically passages from the
Ordinary of the Mass. Within this service are several texts with rubrics stating
that they shall be said or sung by the priest or clerks. The first few of these
texts are found at the beginning of the service, while the rest are meant to occur
during the actual burial of the body into the grave. These texts are typically
dividing into seven, and collectively known as "funeral sentences". Composers who
have set the Anglican burial service to music include William Croft, Thomas Morley,
Thomas Tomkins, Orlando Gibbons and Henry Purcell. The text of these seven
sentences, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, is as follows: