Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Missa pro Defunctis: Sanctus and Agnus Dei

From Giovanni Vianini:



The Sanctus and the Agnus Dei in the Requiem Mass use the same texts as in all ordinaries of the mass - except that in the Agnus Dei, the petition miserere nobis (Have mercy upon us) is changed to dona eis requiem (Grant them rest), and dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace) to dona eis requiem sempiternam (Grant them everlasting rest):
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth;
pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis. (reprise)


Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Hosts;
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.


Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest,
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest,
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest, eternal.

Here are the chant scores:





As you can hear, Maurice Duruflé uses these Gregorian melodies almost without alteration in his own Requiem, although with some lovely embellishment.  The Sanctus is sung by the choir of the Cattedrale di Bergamo; the Agnus Dei by the choir of King's College Cambridge.






Here are links to posts on this blog, for all the movements of the Requiem mass:


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Do you why the sanctus melody (the one used here and by Durufle) seems to now be the sanctus melody of choice for congregations who today learn a chant sanctus? It seems odd that of all the settings available, the one from a requiem mass has become the most popular.

bls said...

Dave, I think it might be just because the melody is so beautiful. And then, it's not too difficult, either.

But my experience isn't yours, I should add; I don't think we've ever sung this Sanctus at my parish; it doesn't seem to be in the Episcopal Church's Hymnal 1982, although I might be missing it.....

bls said...

(Thanks for coming by and commenting, BTW!)

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