19th Movement: Et praecipitabit mortem
The nineteenth movement of the Requiem, Et praecipitabit mortem, is accompanied by a video tour of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon
in Laon, France
Et praecipitabit mortem, like each of the composition's 24 movements, was inspired by the beauty and grandeur of some of the world's great cathedrals and churches.
The Text Et praecipitabit mortem (I will swallow death, Isaiah 25:8) This text is not included in the Latin liturgy of the Eucharist (Mass). I chose it because it would have been appropriate as the Old Testament reading at the liturgy of the Word in the Requiem service. For consistency of language in the Requiem, I’ve included the verse in the Latin that would have been heard at the Roman Requiem Mass prior to the introduction of vernacular translations of the Bible..
The Composition The movement is scored for boys’ choir and SATB chorus; strings (24 violins, 8 violas, 8 cellos, 6 double basses); brass (6 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones); and woodwinds (3 clarinets, English horn, and flute).
Latin Text
Et praecipitabit mortem in sempiternum;
et auferet Dominus Deus lacrimam ab omni facie,
et opprobrium populi sui auferet de universa terra:
quia Dominus locutus est.
English Translation
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of His people he will take away from all the earth.
Thus has spoken the Lord.
