Officium Defunctorum - Structure

Structure

Officium Defunctorum is scored for six-part SSATTB chorus. It includes an entire Office of the Dead: in addition to a Requiem Mass, Victoria sets an extra-liturgical funeral motet, a lesson that belongs to Matins (scored for only SATB and not always included in concert performances), and the ceremony of Absolution which follows the Mass. Polyphonic sections are separated by unaccompanied chant incipits Victoria printed himself. The Soprano II usually carries the cantus firmus, though "it very often disappears into the surrounding part-writing since the chant does not move as slowly as most cantus firmus parts and the polyphony does not generally move very fast." The sections of the work are as follows:

• Taedet animam meam

Second Lesson of Matins (Job 10:1-7)

• Missa Pro Defunctis (Mass for the Dead)

With the Council of Trent, the liturgy of the Requiem Mass was standardized. Victoria sets all of the Requiem Mass sections except the Dies Irae sequence.

• • Introit
  • Kyrie
  • Gradual
  • Offertory
  • Sanctus
  • Agnus Dei
  • Communion
• Versa est in luctum cithara mea (Funeral motet)
• The Absolution: Responsory
  • Libera me
  • Kyrie