Liva was founded in Sherbrooke, in 1997. In 2001 the group released its self-titled 4-song demo. Those songs would later end up on its first album, Requiem, released in November 2002. In May, 2007, Liva released their second full length, De Insulis, inspired by the Latin writings of the French theologian and poet Alain de Lille.
Throughout the years, Liva has opened for many internationally-acclaimed bands such as Voivod (October 2000), Gorguts (September 2nd 2001), Nightwish (September 6th 2003) and Therion (September 11th and 12th 2005). The band also played on the night dedicated to metal’s future in Quebec at the Week-end extrême, on June 2nd 2002. On stage, the Liva experience offers a meeting between the age-old nobility of classical music and the contemporary urgency of metal.
Liva has been featured in reports, like the one for the program Bande-à-part on the Radio-Canada channel, aired in fall 2001 on the ARTV channel. As well as on the radio concert from March 8th 2002 with 13 guest musicians, recorded for Bande-à-part, which aired in April 2002.
On March 9th 2003, the quartet won the Mimi prize for the most avant-garde artist who “most radically break with stereotypes and established criterions: language, musical style, artistic considerations.” The members of Liva have received this prize because "they have the capacity to harmonize classical music with metal.”
Discography:
*Liva (EP, 2000)
*Requiem (Full-length, 2002)
*De Insulis (Full-length, 2007)
Kyrie
Liva Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et lux perpetua luceat eis
Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion,
Et tibi reddetur, votum in Jerusalem
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Exaudi orationem, meam ad te omnis
Caro veniet, caro veniet
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Kyrie, eleison
Kyrie, eleison
Christe, eleison
Christe, eleison
Kyrie, eleison...
The lyrics to Liva's song "Kyrie" are a combination of Latin and English. The opening lines, "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis," mean "Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them." This phrase is often used in the context of a funeral or a requiem mass, which is a mass for the dead.
The next lines switch to English and reference Psalm 65:1-2, which reads "Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. You who answer prayer, to you all people will come." The phrase "Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion" means "To you belongs praise, O God, in Zion," and "Et tibi reddetur, votum in Jerusalem" means "and to you shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem." The use of these lines gives a sense of praising and honoring God even in times of mourning.
The rest of the song repeats the phrases "Requiem aeternam dona eis" and "Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam," translation to "Grant them eternal rest" and "Eternal rest," respectively. The addition of "Kyrie" and "Christe eleison" (which means "Lord have mercy" and "Christ have mercy") gives a sense of pleading or asking for mercy and peace for the departed.
Overall, the lyrics to "Kyrie" convey a sense of mourning, honor, and a plea for peace and rest for the departed, combined with a message of praise and trust in God's mercy and grace.
Line by Line Meaning
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine
Grant them eternal rest, Lord
Et lux perpetua luceat eis
And let perpetual light shine upon them
Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion,
You are worthy of a hymn, God, in Zion
Et tibi reddetur, votum in Jerusalem
And to you shall be fulfilled the vow in Jerusalem
Requiem, requiem, requiem aeternam
Rest, rest, eternal rest
Exaudi orationem, meam ad te omnis
Hear my prayer, to you all flesh shall come
Caro veniet, caro veniet
All flesh shall come, all flesh shall come
Kyrie, eleison
Lord, have mercy
Christe, eleison
Christ, have mercy
Contributed by Austin C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.