Vichnaja Pamjat' on the Dies Irae (Eternal Memory on the Day of Wrath)
In the Byzantine Christian tradition, today is an All Souls Saturday. Instead of the one Feast of All Souls in the Roman Church, the Byzantine Christians have 5 main All Souls Saturdays (depending on the exact tradition, there may be more), one during Meatfare Week (one of the pre-Lenten weeks), three during Lent itself, and one on the day before Pentecost. Today is the 2nd All Souls Saturday of the year, and to help inspire others to join in that prayer of vichnaja pamjat' (eternal memory) for those who have fallen asleep, I have decided to post a bit on one of my favorite pieces of music: Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem (which I have written some about before). Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was an Italian composer, notably of operas, and an atheist, yet when his good friend Roman Catholic novelist Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873) (famous for The Betrothed ) died, he decided to write a musical setting of the Requiem Mass, the Mass for the Dead. Above is m...