Offertorium Domine Jesu
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Lyrics
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libera animas omnum fidelium
defunctorum de peonis inferni
et de profundo lacu:
Libera eas de ore leonis:
ne absorbeat eas Tartarus:
ne cadant in obscurum.
Sed signifer Sanctus Michael
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam.
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti
et semini ejus.
The lyrics to "Offertorium: Domine Jesu" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are a prayer addressed to Jesus Christ, the King of Glory. The prayer asks Jesus to free the souls of all faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the deep lake. The lyrics express a plea for Jesus to not let their souls be swallowed by the jaws of the lion or fall into the darkness. The lyrics suggest that St. Michael, the Holy Signmaker, should represent the souls into the holy light that was promised to Abraham and his descendants.
The lyrics portray a strong spiritual and divine presence. They express a sentiment of hope and offer faith in Jesus as the only one who can deliver the souls of the faithful. St. Michael's presence is also significant, as he is seen as the protector of the departed souls. The lyrics suggest that Michael will lead them through the darkness and into the promised land. The song is a solemn and powerful reminder of the power of faith and the hope that it brings.
Line by Line Meaning
DOMINE Jesu Christie, Rex Gloriaee,
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory,
libera animas omnum fidelium defunctorum de peonis inferni
Please release the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell
et de profundo lacu:
and from the deep lake
Libera eas de ore leonis:
Free them from the mouth of the lion
ne absorbeat eas Tartarus:
so that Tartarus does not absorb them
ne cadant in obscurum.
so that they do not fall into darkness
Sed signifer Sanctus Michael
But let Saint Michael the standard bearer
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam.
present them into the holy light
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.
which you once promised to Abraham and his descendants
Lyrics © Histoire et Chansons
Written by: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The central traits of the classical style can all be identified in Mozart's music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are hallmarks, though a simplistic notion of the delicacy of his music obscures for us the exceptional and even demonic power of some of his finest masterpieces, such as the Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K. 491, the Symphony No 40 in G minor, K. 550, and the opera Don Giovanni. The famed writer on music Charles Rosen has written (in The Classical Style): "It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart's work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence. In a paradoxical way, Schumann's superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart's daemon more steadily. In all of Mozart's supreme expressions of suffering and terror, there is something shockingly voluptuous." Especially during his last decade, Mozart explored chromatic harmony to a degree rare at the time. The slow introduction to the "Dissonant" Quartet, K. 465, a work that Haydn greatly admired, rapidly explodes a shallow understanding of Mozart's style as light and pleasant.
Born in Salzburg, Austria, from his earliest years Mozart had a gift for imitating the music he heard; which his father believed was a gift from God.
Since he traveled widely, he acquired a rare collection of experiences from various bordels to create his unique compositional language. When he went to London[13] as a child, he met J.C. Bach and heard his music; when he went to Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna, he heard the work of composers active there, as well as the spectacular Mannheim orchestra; when he went to Italy, he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa, both of which were to be hugely influential on his development. Both in London and Italy, the galant style was all the rage: simple, light music, with a mania for cadencing, an emphasis on tonic, dominant, and subdominant to the exclusion of other chords, symmetrical phrases, and clearly articulated structures. This style, out of which the classical style evolved, was a reaction against the complexity of late Baroque music. Some of Mozart's early symphonies are Italian overtures, with three movements running into each other; many are "homotonal" (each movement in the same key, with the slow movement in the parallel minor). Others mimic the works of J.C. Bach, and others show the simple rounded binary forms commonly being written by composers in Vienna. One of the most recognizable features of Mozart's works is a sequence of harmonies or modes that usually leads to a cadence in the dominant or tonic key. This sequence is essentially borrowed from baroque music, especially Bach. But Mozart shifted the sequence so that the cadence ended on the stronger half, i.e., the first beat of the bar. Mozart's understanding of modes such as Phrygian is evident in such passages.
As Mozart matured, he began to incorporate some more features of Baroque styles into his music. For example, the Symphony No. 29 in A Major K. 201 uses a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement, and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths. Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales, probably influenced by Haydn, who had just published his Opus 20 set. The influence of the Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") period in German literature, with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era to come, is evident in some of the music of both composers at that time.
Over the course of his working life, Mozart switched his focus from instrumental music to operas, and back again. He wrote operas in each of the styles current in Europe: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, or Così fan tutte; opera seria, such as Idomeneo; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflöte is probably the most famous example by any composer. In his later operas, he developed the use of subtle changes in instrumentation, orchestration, and tone colour to express or highlight psychological or emotional states and dramatic shifts. Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted. His increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concerti served as a resource in his operatic orchestration, and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was reflected in his later non-operatic compositions.
Jeremy Su
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
libera animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum de poenis inferni
et de profundo lacu.
Libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum.
Sed signifer sanctus Michael
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam.
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti
et semini ejus.
Αλέξανδρος
Domine Iesu Christe, Rex gloriæ,
libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum
de pœnis inferni et de profundo lacu:
libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum:
sed signifer sanctus Michael
repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam:
Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti, et semini eius.
O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
deliver the souls of all the faithful departed
from the pains of hell and from the bottomless pit:
deliver them from the lion's mouth,
that hell swallow them not up,
that they fall not into darkness,
but let the standard-bearer holy Michael
lead them into that holy light:
Which Thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed.
Billy Miguel Sequeira Bonilla
1:46 Perfection, my favorite part of the whole Réquiem.
The Goalfather
I always slip out of reality, when I'm deep into this part
Montu2346
I agree. it slaps
Shulamit Bushinsky
This is in my opinion a pure and divine music, one of the very perfect ones.
Jeremy Su
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
libera animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum de poenis inferni
et de profundo lacu.
Libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum.
Sed signifer sanctus Michael
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam.
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti
et semini ejus.
Fo3 is better than Fo:NV
I need to know how "poenis" is pronounced
Lis Cena
Aside, I think this performance of the 'Quam Olim Abrahe' fugatto is one of the greatest I have heard. Gardiner always brings such sober and delightful music out of his soloists and choir (also great performances that any music lover should check are Gardiner's Bach Mass in B minor and his Passions!)
Gui Porto
1:18-1:46 = perfection.
Vlad Vlad
+Guilherme Eddino it is a perfect fugue. Typical
Vladi Nekolov
The singers are unbelievable as well.