Eternal Light (Howard Goodall)

Howard Goodall intends his 2008 requiem Eternal Light to give solace to the grieving. Like other modern requiems it includes passages in English; but it also includes a Latin passage not found in traditional requiems. Most of this post translates what is effectively chapter eight of the revelation to St John, originally written in Greek but sung here in a non-standard Latin version. For the standard Latin movements (Kyrie, Agnus Die, In Paradisum), see my post for Gabriel Fauré’s requiem.

2. REVELATION: FACTUM EST SILENTIUM
Factum est silentium in coelo	Made was silence in heaven
et vidi septem illos angelos qui adstant in conspectu dei	and I saw seven of those messengers which stood in the sight of God
quibus datae sunt septem tubae.	and to them given were seven trumpets.
Et septem angeli qui habebant septem tubas	And the seven angels which had seven trumpets
preparaverunt se ut clangerent.	prepared themselves in order to sound.
Primus igitur angelus clanxit	The first therefore angel sounded
et facta est grando et ignis mista sanguine	and made was hail and fire mingled with blood
projectaque sunt in terram	and they thrown were upon the earth
et tertia pars arborum exusta est	and the third part of trees burnt up was
et omne gramen viride exustum.	and all grass green burnt up.
Deinde secundus angelus clanxit	Next the second angel sounded
et quasi mons magnus, igne ardens, projectus est in mare	and a sort-of mountain great, with fire burning, thrown was into the sea
factaque est tertia pars maris sanguis	and made was the third part of the sea blood
et mortua est tertia pars creaturum quae erant in mari animantia, dico	and dead was the third part of the creatures which were in the sea alive, I say
et tertia pars navium periit.	and the third part of the ships perished.
Tum angelus tertius clanxit	Then the third angel sounded
et cecidit e coelo stella magna	and fell from heaven a star great
ardens velut lampas	burning just like a lamp
ceciditque in tertiam partem fluminum,	and it fell upon the third part of the rivers
et in fontes aquarum.	and upon the fountains of waters.
Nomen autem stellae dicitur Absinthium	The name however of the star was called Wormwood
versa est igitur tertia pars aquarum in absinthium	changed was therefore the third part of the waters into wormwood
et multi homines mortiu sunt ex aquis,	and many men died from the waters
quod amarae factae essent.	which bitter made were.
Deinde quartus angelus clanxit	Next the fourth messenger sounded
et percussa est tertia pars solis	and struck was the third part of the sun
et tertia pars lunae et tertia pars stellarum	and the third part of the moon and the third part of the stars
ita ut obscuraretur tertia pars eorum	so that darkened was the third part of them
et diei non luceret pars tertia et noctis similiter.	and the day did not shine for part one-third and the night likewise.
Et vidi et audivi unum angelum	And I saw and I heard one messenger
volantem per medium coeli, dicentem voce magna	flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a voice great
‘Vae, vae, vae incolis terrae a reliquis	‘Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth remaining
sonis tubae trium illorum angelorum qui clangenti.’	from the sounds of the trumpets of the three of those messengers which will sound!’
7. RECORDARE
Recordare Jesu pie,	Remember Jesus merciful
quod sum causa tuae viae,	that I am the reason for your journey
ne me perdas illa die.	do not me forsake on day that.

Est is literally is; but the next line has vidi of veni vidi vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) fame. Latin mixes tenses in a way we find confusing, so I've put all the present tenses into the past and translated est as was.
Et septem. Latin is one of many languages that avoid articles like the or a(n). I've added them where needed to keep the sense in English, so And the seven instead of the literal And seven.
Projectaque sunt. Projecta means thrown when talking about ‘them’, que is just tagged on to mean and, and sunt means were.

Requiem (Gabriel Fauré)

Gabriel Fauré wrote this, the best-known of his large-scale choral works, between 1887 and 1890. Although his parents died in 1885 and 1887, he disclaimed any connection and declared it was “composed for nothing … for fun, if I may be permitted to say so”.
The text is based on the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead, with some omissions and amendments. To this he added the motet Pie Jesu and two texts from the Order of Burial, Libera me and In Paradisum.

I. INTROITUS – KYRIE
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine	Rest eternal give them, Lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.	and let light always shine on them.
Te decet hymnus, Deus in Sion	It is right to hymn you, God, in Sion
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.	and to you will be made a vow in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.	Hear my prayer, to you all flesh will come.
Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison.	Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, lord have mercy.
II. OFFERTORIUM
O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex Gloriae	O lord, Jesus Christ, king of glory
libera animas defunctorum	free the souls of the dead
de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu.	from the punishment of hell and the deep pit.
O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex Gloriae	O Lord Jesus Christ, king of glory,
libera animas defunctorum de ore leonis	deliver the dead souls from the mouth of the lion,
ne absorbeat eus Tartarus ne cadant in obscurum.	so they are not swallowed by hell and do not fall into darkness.
Hostias et preces tibi Domine, laudis offerimus	Sacrifices and prayers to you, lord, with praise we offer
tu suscipe pro animabus illis	receive them for those souls
quarum hodie memoriam facimus	whom today we remember.
Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam	Make them, lord, from death cross over to life
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eus.	as once to Abraham you promised and to his seed.
III. SANCTUS
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth	Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts
pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua	full are the heavens and earth with the glory of you
hosanna in excelsis.	hosanna in the highest.
IV. PIE JESU
Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem	Merciful Jesus, Lord, give them rest
dona eis requiem sempiternam requiem	give them rest, eternal rest.
V. AGNUS DEI
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi	Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
dona eis requiem.	give them rest.
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine	Let light eternal shine on them, lord,
Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,	with your saints for eternity,
quia pius es	for you are merciful.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine,	give them eternal rest, lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis	and let light always shine on them.
VI. LIBERA ME
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna	Free me, lord, from death eternal
in die illa tremenda	on that day of dread
quando coeli movendi sunt et terra	when the heavens will be shaken and the earth
dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem	while you come to judge the world with fire.
Tremens factus sum ego et timeo	I am made to shake, and am afraid
dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira	awaiting the trial and the coming anger.
Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae	That day, day of anger, of calamity and misery,
dies illa, dies magna et amara valde.	that day, the day of great and exceeding bitterness,
Requiem aeternam …	(reprise of the introit)
VII. IN PARADISUM
In Paradisum deducant Angeli	Into paradise may angels draw them,
in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres	on your arrival, may the martyrs receive you
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem	and lead you into the holy city Jerusalem.
Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat	May the chorus of angels receive you,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere	and with Lazarus, once a beggar,
aeternam habeas requiem	may you have eternal rest.

Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison. A transliteration of the greek prayer Κύριε ἐλέησον, Χριστὲ ἐλέησον, Κύριε ἐλέησον.

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December 1999: the first half of the first concert by what would later become known as The Sacred Wing was a performance of Fauré’s Requiem. My friend Ian B, an intelligent and privately-educated man, came up to me during the interval and said “That was lovely. What was it about?”
We'd chosen the work because we thought it was well-known, and anyway everybody would know what a requiem was and think it appropriate for a concert so near World Aids Day. A reminder, if one were needed, of the dangers of making assumptions. Since then I've always included a translation of anything non-english when putting programme notes together (here's a pdf of the programme for Sacred Wing's 2004 performance), and I suppose that ultimately you've got Ian to thank for this blog.

Quatre Motets sur des Thèmes Grégoriens (Maurice Duruflé)

Four beautiful if challenging little gems, a 1960 re-imagining of plainsong. Leaning on the marked syllables (á, é, etc) rather than the first beat after every irregular bar-line adds to the effect.

UBI CARITAS
Ubi cáritas et ámor, Déus ibi est.	Where (there is) charity and love, God is there.
Congregávit nos in únum Chrísti ámor.	We are gathered into one by Christ’s love.
Exsultémus et in ípso jucundémur.	Let us rejoice and, in him, be happy.
Timeámus et amémus Déum vívum.	Let us revere and love the living God.
Et ex córde diligámus nos sincéro.	And from the heart we are diligent by being genuine.
Amen.	Amen.
TOTA PULCHRA ES
Tóta púlchra es, María, et mácula originális non est in te.	You are wholly beautiful, Mary, and original sin is not (found) in you.
Vestiméntum túum cándidum quasi nix, et fácies túa sicut sol.	Your clothes are as white as snow, and your face is like the sun.
Tu glória Jerúsalem, tu laetítia Israel, tu honorificéntia pópuli nóstri.	You (are the) glory of Jerusalem, you (are the) joy of Israel, you (are the) honour of our people.
TU ES PETRUS
Tu es Pétrus, et super hanc pétram edificábo ecclésiam méam.	You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.
TANTUM ERGO
Tántum érgo sacraméntum venerémur cérnui,	Only because of this sacrament let us bow low,
Et antíquum documéntum novo cédat rítui,	And let the old law give way to the new rite,
Praéstet fídes suppleméntum sénsuum deféctui.	Let faith make up for our deficient senses.
Genitóri genitóque laus et jubilátio, sálus, hónor, vírtus quóque;	To the begetter and the begotten praise and jubilation, salvation, honour and power also;
sit et benedíctio, procedénti ab utróque cómpar sit laudátio.	And be there blessing, to the one proceeding from both let there equally be praise.
Amen.	Amen.

Amen. The usual translation is so let it be. But it's also the verily in verily I say unto you – a solemn afirmation.

Petrus, petram. A contender for the world's most venerable pun. Two very similar words, meaning Peter and rock, but in different forms because they have different functions in the sentence. It's easier in french, which uses Pierre for both meanings and both functions. Or of course if Mr Hudson had been a bit godlier …

Ergo. Best known as the therefore in I think therefore I am (cogito ergo sum), but can also do the opposite job in logic and mean because.

Genitori genitoque. I've used the biblical begetter and begotten to emphasise how similar the two words are. The que on the end is a neat way of saying slightly more than just and, of emphasising that two words are strongly paired.