STAMFORD—In a special observance of All Souls’ Day, the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist will have a Solemn High Requiem Mass with the schola performing the Missa Pro Defunctus of 16th century Italian composer Giovanni Francesco Anerio.
Father Cyprian P. La Pastina, recently named pastor of the Basilica by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, will celebrate the Mass on November 2 at 7:30 pm.
“It will be an opportunity to exercise a Spiritual Work of Mercy—praying for the dead—in a very beautiful and solemn way,” said Nick Botkins, organist and choirmaster. “Praying for the dead, especially this year, will be even more poignant because we have had more than the usual number of funerals due to the COVID pandemic.”
The commemoration of the faithful departed will also include the Rite of Absolution at the Catafalque—which is a solemn prayer of intercession for the dead to provide relief for souls in Purgatory.
The catafalque is a structure in the shape and size of a coffin, which is placed in the center aisle. From the Italian word ‘catafalco’ for scaffold—the catafalque is meant to represent the body of the deceased and is covered in a black funeral pall. The priest, deacon and subdeacon descend from the altar for the prayers, which appeal for mercy for the souls of the dead.
Botkins emphasizes the importance of praying for the dead as a Spiritual Work of Mercy and quotes Venerable Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen, who said, “As we enter Heaven, we will see them, so many of them, coming toward us and thanking us. We will ask who they are, and they will say, ‘A poor soul you prayed for in purgatory.’”
Botkins said Giovanni Francesco Anerio was a remarkable composer who is typically overshadowed by his teacher, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music who had a significant influence on the European development of Church and secular music.
“Anerio sang with Palestrina in Rome and made a contribution to the Church repertoire,” Botkins said. “He is reminiscent of Palestrina. What I like about this—and I have done it a few times—is that he quotes from the Gregorian chant nearly verbatim in his music.”
Because of COVID restrictions, a small group from the Basilica schola, under the direction of Botkins, will perform the requiem. The schola, which sings at the noon Sunday Choral Mass, is composed of young professional singers, many of whom are studying choral music at such institutions as Yale School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music.
Botkins credits Monsignor Stephen M. DiGiovanni for the creation of the group and his sustained commitment to it.
“They are of a very high caliber because they sing a lot of music week in and week out,” he said. “Their repertoire encompasses eleven centuries of music.”
For ten yeas, Botkins was the director of sacred music and master of the choirs at the St. Francis de Sales Oratory, an apostolate of the Institute of Christ the King in St. Louis. A convert to Catholicism in 2007, he was appointed Director of Music at the Basilica in March 2019.
Last year, on the observance of the canonization of Cardinal John Henry Newman, Botkins served as conductor for the U.S. premiere of the Great Mass in G Major by the legendary Irish composer Sir Charles Villiers Stanford at the Basilica. There was a full orchestra, the Basilica choir and vocal soloists from the opera program at Yale University.
