Requiem Mass - Composed by Vincent A. Quaresima, November 2001

HEROES' REQUIEM
A War Requiem for Our Time
In Memoriam - September 11, 2001

Heroes' Requiem, a Latin setting of the Roman Catholic Missa pro Defunctis (Mass for the Dead, or Requiem Mass, taking its traditional name from the opening phrase of the Introit, "Requiem aeternam...") was composed during November and December, 2001 by Vincent Quaresima in commemoration of those who gave their lives on September 11, 2001.

What follows is a very quickly "thrown together" web-page with links to MP3 files of each section of the Mass to give you a "sneak peak" of the work before it officially "sees the light of day" through public performance. Thanks to the technical magic of sound-fonts, you are hearing the work as it was actually intended to be heard (within the limitations of computer-generated music, that is). The music, and the files, are copyright (c) 2001 by Vincent A. Quaresima and are available to you by way of your having been invited to this site, the web-address for which you are asked not to share without permission.

Here are the sections of the Requiem Mass.
Each link is to an "MP3" file, at 128khz (roughly a bit less than CD quality).

(1) Introit and Kyrie
(2) Sequence [Dies Irae]
        a) Dies Irae & Tuba Mirum
        b) Liber Scriptus
        c) Recordare, Jesu pie
        d) Ingemisco tamquam reus
        e) Confutatis maledictis
        f) Lacrimosa dies illa
(3) Offertorium [Hostias et Preces tibi, Domine]
(4) Sanctus [Sanctus]
(5) Benedictus [Benedictus, qui venit]
(6) Agnus Dei [Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi]
(7) Lux Aeterna [Lux aeterna, luceat eis Domine]
(9) In Paradisum [In paradisum deducant angeli]

The Requiem calls for moderate-sized orchestra of standard instrumentation. The use of a pipe organ is specified for the In Paradisum, however given today's technology, that can very easily and quite realistically be done with electronic organs. Also, two antiphonal brass choirs are used in the Dies Irae.
The vocal requirements are an adult choir, a boy choir, and four adult soloists (the standard soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, and baritone/bass).
[Historical Note]
Work on the Heroes' Requiem was started on November 2, 2001, and the Mass was finished on December 17, 2001 - a total of 46 days.

The text for each of the sections of the Requiem Mass are from the traditional ("Tridentine") Roman Missal. Full text of the Mass for the Dead (Requiem) can be found at this site, which I used as a "quick and available" online source.

The "In Paradisum" is part of the ritual surrounding the Mass for the Dead, but is not considered part of the Mass itself. Traditionally it has been used at the end of the ceremonies, just prior to the removal of the deceased from the church. As the text for the In Paradisum may not be as readily available the rest of the Mass, it is given here for your convenience:

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

Roughly translated, this is:

May the choir of angels greet you
and with Lazarus, who was once poor,
may you have eternal rest.

And the final entrance of the Boys Choir, in Hebrew:

Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech Haolam, Dayan Haemet.