Līberā mē, Libera me is a Roman Catholic responsory

Responsory

-Definition:The most general of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on those chants of the western...

 that is sung in the Office of the Dead

Office of the Dead

The Office of the Dead is a prayer cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic Church, said for the repose of the soul of a decedent. It is the proper reading on All Souls' Day for all souls in Purgatory, and can be a votive office on other days when said for a particular decedent...

 and at the absolution of the dead

Absolution of the dead

The Absolution of the dead is a series of prayers for pardon and remission of sins that are said in some Christian churches over the body of a deceased believer before burial.-Roman Catholic practice:...

, a service of prayers for the dead said by the coffin immediately after the Requiem Mass and before burial

Burial

Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...

. The text of Libera Me asks God to have mercy upon the deceased person at the Last Judgement. In addition to the Gregorian chant

Gregorian chant

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...

 in the Roman Gradual

Gradual

The Gradual is a chant or hymn in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In the Tridentine Mass it was and is sung after the reading or chanting of the Epistle and before the Alleluia, or, during penitential seasons, before the Tract. In the Mass of Paul VI...

, many composers have written settings for the text, including Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

, Gabriel Fauré

Gabriel Fauré

Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...

, Maurice Duruflé

Maurice Duruflé

Maurice Duruflé was a French composer, organist, and pedagogue.Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure. In 1912, he became chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School, where he studied piano and organ with Jules Haelling...

 and David Maslanka

David Maslanka

David Maslanka is a U.S. composer who writes for a variety of genres, including works for choir, wind ensemble, chamber music and symphony orchestra....

.

Līberā mē, Domine, de morte æternā, in diē illa tremenda:

Quandō cœli movendi sunt et terra.

Dum veneris īudicāre sæculum per ignem.

Tremēns factus sum ego, et timeō, dum discussio vēnerit, atque ventūra īra.

Quandō cœlī movendi sunt et terra.

Diēs illa, diēs īræ, calamitatis et miseriæ, diēs magna et amara valde.

Dum veneris īudicāre sæculum per ignem.

Requiem æternam dōnā eīs, Domine: et lūx perpetua lūceat eīs.

Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal on that fearful day,

When the heavens and the earth shall be moved,

When thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.

I am made to tremble, and I fear, till the judgment be upon us, and the coming wrath,

When the heavens and the earth shall be moved.

That day, day of wrath, calamity, and misery, day of great and exceeding bitterness,

When thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.

Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Libera Me is begun by a cantor, who sings the versicle

Versicle

A versicle is the first half of one of a set of preces, said or sung by an officiant or cantor and answered with a said or sung response by the congregation or choir...

s alone, and the responses are sung by the choir. The text is written in the first person singular

First Person Singular

First Person Singular is a play by Lewis Grant Wallace. The play tells the story of a convoluted affair between an eminent old novelist and a resentful younger writer. The work premiered at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End of London on 4 February 1952. The cast included Irene Handl as...

, "Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that fearful day," a dramatic substitution in which the choir speaks for the dead person.

In the traditional Office, Libera Me is also said on All Souls' Day (2 November) and whenever all three nocturns of Matins

Matins

Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...

of the Dead are recited. On other occasions, the ninth responsory of Matins for the Dead begins with "Libera me", but continues with a different text (Domine, de viis inferni, etc.).