Choristers express the significance of the All Soul’s Day Mass
Two years ago, hundreds of Notre Dame students filled the Basilica of the Sacred Heart for the Liturgical Choir’s first performance of Mozart’s Requiem. Last time it was a concert. This year, the choir and the accompanying orchestra will perform the Requiem for the 9:30 a.m. All Soul’s Day Mass on November 2 in the basilica.
The nearly hour-long composition sets music for various parts of the Mass including the Kyrie, All Soul’s Day Sequence, and the Agnus Dei. Senior chorister James Christian explained to the Rover, “The Requiem [was] written as a plea to Our Lord for His mercy to grant rest and peace to the faithful departed.”
Liturgical Choir President James Kabele told the Rover, “Mozart’s Requiem is not only one of the most beautiful choral pieces of music composed. It is not just a testament to Mozart, who died before this piece was finished, it is also a testament to all the faithful who have gone before us and are entering the communion of the saints.”
The Requiem is a personal experience for many in the choir. In a comment to the Rover, Senior chorister Reese Connors said, “We understand that this was among the last projects of the composer at the time of his death at age 35. I’m [struck] by the idea of this every time I sing the Requiem, as it is a piece whose words lend an in-depth reflection on death and the need for divine mercy.”
Connors continued, “I find it as an opportunity for a purgative, spiritual process: To pray for the dead, to meditate on my own death, and to offer it up as praise for God. I don’t think we get the opportunity to do all three of those things in as profound [a] manner [as] within Mozart’s Requiem.”
The piece is difficult but rewarding. Liturgical Choir Director Andrew McShane explained to the Rover: “Music that people love is very easy to teach quite frankly, so although we have spent a lot of time learning the various movements the learning has been quite easy.”
Junior chorister Teresa Pingel noted, “In many ways performing the Requiem is more of a mental challenge than anything else. You have to focus on many things at once: entering your part on time, with the right dynamic, remembering where to breathe and especially where NOT to breathe, sustaining your high notes, and watching our director, Andy, for any additional cues. It’s a challenge, but a very rewarding one!”
Singing the Requiem during a Mass rather than a concert returns to the original intent of the piece as a Requiem for the dead. “This year will be the first time the Liturgical Choir performs the Requiem for a Mass,” McShane explained. “I thought singing the piece in the context of a Mass would be a unique challenge. It was Fr. Brian Ching who approached me about doing it on All Soul’s Day since it is on a Sunday this year.”
Christian explained, “I am so excited to be able to sing it in the context of a Requiem Mass on All Soul’s Day, where it will contribute to the reverence and mystery of the Mass in its truest form.”
Singing the Requiem during a Mass also poses new challenges. McShane continued, “People always hear the Mozart Requiem movement after movement in succession so the challenge is to sing the Requiem in the context of a ‘modern’ liturgy. Singing the Mozart Requiem at Mass in 2025 will feel much different rhythmically than a ‘normal’ Mass. Another challenge is that the basilica is not specifically set up for choir and orchestra at Mass so we have to adapt the space for this unique event.”
Overall, each choir member the Rover corresponded with was excited for the opportunity to share the Requiem with the broader Notre Dame community. Freshman chorister Lydia Tomko told the Rover, “Hearing the Requiem in the basilica will be one of the most beautiful Masses you will have a chance to go to on campus. The beauty of the church and the glory of the Mass will be offered as a noble tribute by Mozart’s setting, and the choir, which has been working with devotion, hopes to help share this beauty with as many people as possible.”
Darius Colangelo is a retired chorister and junior majoring in mathematics and the Program of Liberal Studies. He loves coffee, misses mountains, and when he’s not dozing off in the Grand Reading Room, he can be reached at dcolange@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Bridget Murphy
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