This mass contains:
01. Introitus - Requiem Aeternam 3’.55”
02. Kyrie 2’.25”
03. Graduale - Requiem Aeternam 3’.47”
04. Offertorium - Domine Jesu Christe 4’.04”
05. Sanctus & Benedictus 1’.44”
06. Agnus Dei 1’.55”
07. Communio - Lux Aeterna 2’.14”
08. Addenddum Graduale II Requiem Aeternam 4’.04”
This Missa pro defunctis/Mass for the Dead by Lourenço Ribeiro is preserved in Biblioteca pública in Braga. This Missa pro Defunctis is written for four voices (SATB). It’s nearly certain this Book comes out of the Braga Cathedral and this Mass was performed in the services at that time in the Braga Cathedral.
With the Council of Trent, the liturgy of the Requiem Mass was more or less standardized. But Ribeiro sets all of the admitted Requiem Mass sections except the “Dies Irae, Sequentia”.
This Missa pro Defunctis is set by Ribeiro for four voices and the cantus firmus is among others allotted in the Tenor-voice which was usual in the traditional style of that days. See for instance de Morales ( c.1500-1553) Missa pro Defunctis a 4 and Da Victoria (1548-1611) Missa pro Defunctis a 4 with nearly – there are differences - the same movements. But in this case the cantus firmus is present too in more parts.
All the parts in this Missa pro defunctis starts with the normal plainchant in the upper voice/superior followed by imitative counterpoint. The Kyrië is more homophonic and each verse is sung twice and not three times, which should be normal.
All the parts as we feel are rich coloured set by Ribeiro but in n austere sphere with some modest endings.
But on the other hand we mention the excellent and last part of the Communio: “Et lux perpetua luceat eis” an imposing part of the Requiem. Of course the real sense of that text gives all tools to composers, see indeed all the marvellous settings by others.
It’s amazing and special Ribeiro uses in the Graduale-part from the Verse “in memoria aeterna erit iustus : ab auditare mala non timebit” a double high voices/trebles in omitting the two lower voices.
Underlining the text could be the reason but in such a high texture contrary to the other settings. Moreover there is found in this Choir-book of the dead in Braga a second setting of a Graduale called by us Graduale-II in the same high texture. We mention that setting here and not in a separate item of this website.
This masterpiece belongs to a Portuguese musical tradition of composing Requiem Masses which starts by Pedro de Escobar (c.1465-c.1540). But see too other Portuguese renaissance composers mentioned in this website, Manuel Mendes (c.1547-1605), De Brito (1570-1641), Cardoso (1566-1659, Duarte Lobo (c.1565-1646) and Magalhães (c.1571-1652) who set Requiem Masses too.
As stated before this only surviving work by Ribeiro is in total preserved in the archives of the Braga Cathedral, and in the Biblioteca pública in Braga.