Faure's Requiem presented in memory of Sister Raban Wathen

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
Posted Oct. 17, 2002

Faure's Requiem, to be held next month at the Cathedral of the Epiphany, will be presented in memory of a former Briar Cliff choral director who was also liturgist at the Cathedral. Sister Raban Wathen died Sept. 17 in Dubuque.

Slated for Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m., the choir will consist of Cliff Singers, the Cathedral choir and other area singers, accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra. It is a Cathedral Arts Guild sponsored event.

As the requiem will incorporate singers from both Briar Cliff and the Cathedral, Sister Mary Day, chair of the music department at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City and member of the Cathedral Arts Guild, said it was the perfect event to dedicate to the memory of Sister Raban.

"The requiem is a funeral Mass. It is a French setting of a Latin text," explained Sister Mary Day. "We chose this piece of music to center around All Souls Day, All Saints Day - when the church remembers the dead."

Songs follow the traditional funeral Mass such as the Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy), Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy), Angus Dei (Lamb of God) and so forth. The Liberme is the final plea to God to grant salvation.

"This is the pre-Vatican II Mass settings," she said.

Matthew Geerlings, music director at the Cathedral and member of the arts guild, selected the Faure Requiem. He will play the organ for the performance.

Dr. Mark Simmons, director of choral activities at Briar Cliff University, will direct.

According to Simmons, Faure's requiem is uplifting compared to other composers who focus on God's rath. For instance, he noted that another French composer, Hector Berlioz, has an attitude of angst or judgment in his requiem.

Faure's, on the other hand, centers his requiem on forgiveness and inclusiveness.

"It's about finding acceptance from God and reaching a sense of unity with God," Simmons explained. "The Faure Requiem is calming. You will be ushered into the presence of God."

It is believed that Faure wrote this requiem amid bouts of depression brought on by the death of his father and imminent death of his mother.

Sister Mary Day said the combination of college-age and older adult voices should provide for a rich, lively sound with great depth.

Sister Raban came to Briar Cliff in 1962 as the choral director and voice teacher. While there was a choir at the college, she officially founded the Cliff Singers. The Franciscan sister is also credited for initiating Cliff Singers tours. The group toured many of the K-12 Catholic schools and she had considered it a special honor to perform at the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. one Easter Sunday.

"Sister Raban was so well known by many people," said Sister Mary Day. "She was a pleasant person who always took time to talk to people. If you ever went anywhere with her in town, you'd have to decide that you would be stopped by five or six people because she was involved in many lives. She was a caring person and people really liked her."

In 1979, Sister Raban left BC to become the liturgist at Cathedral where she directed the parish choir and organized many diocesan celebrations such as priestly ordinations. She ministered at the Cathedral until 1997 when she retired to the motherhouse in Dubuque.

Even in her time at Briar Cliff, Sister Raban had suffered from health problems. In mid-1960s she was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and back problems, having to undergo several surgeries. By the time she left the Cathedral, Sister Raban had Alzheimer's Disease.

It is the dream of Sister Mary Day to have a Cliff Singer Scholarship established in Sister Raban's name.

"She was such an involved person in the students' lives," said Sister Mary Day. "All of the students loved her."

At Briar Cliff, along with her duties in the music department, Sister Raban served as the assistant dean of students.

Tickets for the Faure Requiem are $10, available at Briar Cliff and at Cathedral. There is no reserve seating. If tickets are still available, they will be sold at the door.