This post might seem a little bit of a downer but it’s a genre that holds my attention. Funeral music.
There are a lot of contemporary songs that are played at funerals, ranging from rock and metal to pop and country. Although I haven’t included them below that’s not to say that they won’t at some point become what we know as funeral music. For now, some of the best funeral music is religious in nature and has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years. In no particular order, below are some videos with soundtracks. Some videos were taken at funerals and may contain disturbing images to some. Other than that, enjoy the music and celebrate life!
Vichnaya Pamyat (Вічная Память “Eternal Memory”)
This song, sung at Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox funerals at the end of the Panakhyda, repeats the phrases “Вічная Память” which means “Eternal Memory”. What catches my ear is the mournful melody. The first video is a good take, but is very short. The second video is a good version sung in a Kyiv Church but contains the funeral speech after the song is finished.
The Lamentations
If you want a full soundtrack to listen to the Lamentations sung by this group of Romanian Orthodox priests is long enough to work to (around 50 minutes). The Lamentations is sung as a part of the funeral service for Jesus on Holy Friday just before Easter.
Chopin’s Requiem
There is no other melody in the world that suggests a “funeral” more than Frederick Chopin’s “Funeral March”. It’s probably one of the most cinematic funeral songs and has been recorded by classical composers all over the world. The song has four movements to it: Gravio, Scherzo, Marche funerbe and the finale. The most famous parts are Gravio and Finale, that’s where the piano plunks away at some low notes giving the song its depressing and heavy nature.
Libera Me
A part of the larger Latin Mass for the Dead (Missa pro defunctis), similar to the panakhyda of the Ukrainian liturgy featured above, the Libera Me is sung at the end of the requiem mass just before burial. You may be familiar with a few other parts of the Requiem, such as Dies Irae and Pie Jesu, which have been recorded by choirs and orchestras for numerous movie soundtracks. The version below is taken from the Interview With A Vampire Soundtrack performed by the Philadelphia Boys’ Choir. The lyrics are below, but good luck trying to follow along on your own.
Líbera me, Dómine, de morte ætérna, in die illa treménda:
Quando cœli movéndi sunt et terra.
Dum véneris iudicáre sǽculum per ignem.
Tremens factus sum ego, et tímeo, dum discússio vénerit, atque ventúra ira.
Quando cœli movendi sunt et terra.
Dies illa, dies iræ, calamitátis et misériæ, dies magna et amára valde.
Dum véneris iudicáre sǽculum per ignem.
Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine: et lux perpétua lúceat eis. (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Balinese Cremation Song
Kicking things up a little, I captured this tune while on Nusa Lembongan in Indonesia. It was a Buddhist cremation ceremony for a recently deceased monk. Every year around June/July there is a huge cremation ceremony at some of the larger temples. The richer the family or community, the bigger the structure they used to carry the monk to the final resting place. The video is around 12 minutes long, but take a look at the beginning part which took place at the beginning of the ceremony. The drums began and then the men hoisted the carriage onto their shoulders and began dancing around. Pretty intense.
Salat Janaza
I’ve never seen it before but the Salat Janaza is the Islamic prayer for the dead. Like most funeral masses, it is performed by a religious leader, the imam in Islam, who leads the rest of the congregation in praying for the deceased. I couldn’t find a better version than the one listed below.
The Global Mixtape Project 