Verdi's Requiem

On Saturday evening as planned, Becky and I met up for dinner at Macaroni Grill, browsed through the digital cameras at Office Depot (since both of us are digital camera shopping before our England trip) and then headed to the Second Presbyterian Church for the performance of Guiseppe Verdi’s Requiem.

We had no idea just how many people would be there. It was truly a packed house, and we were a few minutes early--not early by our standards since both Becky and I like to be really early for things, but still early by the average person’s standards, and yet it was pretty much standing room only. We finally found 2 seats in the last row, and this row was one of two pews right outside the sanctuary, and so as you sit there, you are literally facing a glass window and seeing everybody else inside. I joked about it feeling like we were right at St. Peter’s Gate in Heaven, and the gates just shut in front of us. We were almost in but not quite.

This was my 2nd visit to this incredible church building, and I still found it as beautiful as before. It has the air of a European Cathedral with its massive timber beans and stone columns, and of course, it is also known as the church where Ryan White’s funeral was held. I was sad that Becky wasn’t going to get to sit inside the sanctuary, but all that was about to change.

An usher came by and said that there was room in the front row of the sanctuary. Becky and I decided to chance it; although I did threaten her that if we walked down this massive aisle and still didn’t find a seat that I would die of embarrassment if we had to walk back up the aisle in front of all those faces. But that didn’t happen.

We got seats smack dab in the middle of the front row, and I mean these seats were the closest you could get. I’ve never sat so close to anything in my life. The IU Philharmonic Orchestra was right there in front of us. I could have reached out and touched the cellist’s bow. It felt like the 4 soloists were practically singing to us in our own private performance. We could see everything. The bass soloist was wearing black cowboy boots with his tuxedo, and I found that amusing and indicative of his personality. I could see the sweat glistening on the conductor’s head as he waved his arms above us. We were pretty darn close.

I leaned over to Becky and told her that this scenario gave new meaning to that verse in the Bible about how the first shall be the last, and the last shall be first...

The concert itself was spectacular. The message and music of Verdi’s Requiem was meaningful and inspiring. It was very moving as the oratorio choir and the soloists sang about asking for GOD’s mercy to spare them and those that have gone before. It was a stirring testament to the holiness of GOD.

And yet as we sat there mesmerized by the lilting refrain, I couldn’t help but wonder if the meaning of the words was caught by those singing it. Did they know about WHOM they were singing? Did they catch the deeper significance in the Latin? Or was it just a beautiful piece of classical music to them? It meant something to me, but I wondered if it meant anything to the melodic voices singing HIS praises. These voices that HE made, this talent that HE blessed them with, singing the music that HE inspired…

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.
Hosanna in excelsis!