On the evening of All Souls Day, the Oratory at Ave Maria University was filled with the aural incense of Maurice Durruflé, Cristóbel Morales, Heinrich Biber and Gregorian Chant. Durruflé’s Requiem was augmented by offerings from Morales’ Missa Pro Defunctis and Heinrich Biber’s Dies Irae, each of which was punctuated with Gregorian interludes. This outpouring of the Church’s musical treasury, spanning from the middle ages to the twentieth century and sung by the AMU Chamber Choir and the Ave Maria University Chorus, was performed as part of a Solemn Sung Requiem Mass in the Extraordinary Form. As such, the sublime beauty of the music was put to the service of the Holy Mass, for which it was written and by which it was inspired.

The Church overflows with the grace of the sacraments and the timeless beauty of its liturgy, and this grace and beauty pours into the hearts of great composers, great artists and great writers. There is nothing this side of heaven more beautiful than the Holy Mass of Christ’s Mystical Body, especially in its pure and unadulterated traditional form, and there is nothing more edifying than being present at such a Mass when a choir sings the thurible of sacred music, letting it rise to the suffering souls in purgatory in heavenly praise. In the Real Presence of such majestic beauty one can easily imagine the suffering souls being released from their purgatorial chains by the prayer and praise being offered on their behalf. One sees a vision of souls floating on clouds of musical incense to the Beatific Vision beyond all clouds. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua leceat eis.