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 Abrahae et semini eius.
 
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, 
laudis offerimus;
tu suscipe pro animabus illis, 
quarum hodie memoriam facimus.
Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam.
Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini eius.1

B. Britten sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
B. Britten sets stanza 2 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Note: the line that Britten adds at the end is from "The parable of the Old Man and the Young".

¹ Britten adds "And half the seed of Europe, one by one."

Text Authorship:

• by Bible or other Sacred Texts , "Offertorium" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Roland de Lassus (1532 - 1594), "Domine Jesu Christe", published 1582 [ chorus a cappella ], from Sacrae cantiones quinque vocum, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901), "Offertorium", first performed 1874 [ soli, chorus, orchestra ], in Messa da Requiem [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Offertorium", op. 66 no. 3, published 1961 [ soprano, tenor, baritone, satb chorus, boys' chorus, orchestra, chamber orchestra, organ ], from War Requiem, no. 3
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Ofertori", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Lau Kanen) , "Heer Jezus Christus (Offertorium in de Requiemmis)"
• ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Lau Kanen [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-06-22
Line count: 15
Word count: 79