"In paradisum" (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "Into

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

") is an

antiphon An antiphon (Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominentl ...

from the traditional

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

of the Western Church

Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

. It is sung by the choir as the body is being taken out of the church. The text of the ''In paradisum'' — with or without the Gregorian melody itself — is sometimes included in musical settings of the

, such as those by Gabriel Fauré and by Maurice Duruflé.

Text

:''In paradisum deducant te angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.'' :"May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once (a) poor (man), may you have eternal rest." In the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementa ...

es for the dead, this antiphon is sung in procession on the way from the final blessing of the corpse in church to the graveyard where burial takes place. The Gregorian melody for ''In paradisum'' is in the Mixolydian mode. The special nature of this mode — with its lowered seventh degree, which makes it different from the modern major mode — is heard twice in this melody at cadences on the words ''Chorus Angelorum'' and ''quondam paupere''. The melodic highpoint in this setting comes on the name of Lazarus, the poor beggar in

Luke's Gospel The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

Modern variations

There are many contemporary English settings of the text, offered by Catholic publishers including

Oregon Catholic Press Oregon Catholic Press (OCP, originally the Catholic Truth Society of Oregon) is a publisher of Catholic liturgical music based in Portland, Oregon. It published the newspapers ''Catholic Sentinel'' and ''El Centinela''; both papers have been dis ...

. Bob Dufford wrote a version called "Songs of the Angels". James Quinn also wrote a version titled "May Flights of Angels Lead You On Your Way", accompanied by ''Unde et Memores''. Others include settings by Grayson Warren Brown, Ernest Sands, and others. In Paradisum served as the inspiration for popular Protestant jazz piece "

When the Saints Go Marching In "When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn and is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstron ...

", which share the same first four notes, similar textual meaning, and use during the funeral procession of the body from the church to the cemetery in

Black Protestant The black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African Americans, as well as thei ...

churches.

References

External links

Audio
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Requiems Latin-language Christian hymns Catholic liturgy Christian funeral music {{Latin-vocab-stub

Text

Modern variations

See also

References

External links