Students Pray for at All Souls at Requiem Oratorio

To close out the Month of All Souls, Thomas Aquinas College’s California Choir performed Durufle’s Requiem in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel shortly before the Thanksgiving recess. Accompanying the choir, directed by Daniel J. Grimm (’76), was world-renowned organist Mark Husey, director of pastoral music and communications at St. Ambrose Church in West Hollywood, California.

Beginning the Oratorio with solemn prayer and reflection, Head Chaplain Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P., called to mind “those passed”— to pray for their salvation as well as for the loved ones they have left behind. In particular, the congregation prayed for those students, alumni, and other members of the TAC community who have died within the last year.

All through the Chapel, students and faculty, some accompanied by family, moved into silent contemplation and prayer. The piece found its moments of quiet, peaceful and gentle, and its crescendos, intense and evocative; soaring harmonies and artful melodies knit together in exquisite musical union.

“That was beautiful,” exclaimed freshman Trinity Chester at the conclusion of the oratorio. “The performance was stunning and so intense. It really moved me.” Senior Robbie Santine agreed, observing, “That was remarkable.”

Senior Peter Lucas, a member of the Thomas Aquinas College Choir, reflected on the performance afterward. “It took a lot of hard work to prepare for a piece like this; there were a lot of moving parts,” he said. “It all came together beautifully, though.”