Yes, the theme from We Were Soldiers.
Navy Hymn: Eternal Father, Strong to Save
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The music was fine but what I really wanted to hear was something from Frank Sinatra.
He did one or two really great songs one of them being "The Country I Live", think thats the title, that would have great. Of course they could have played "My Way" also.
It subsequently has been incorporated into the hymn "Going Home" in the style of a Negro spiritual.
Didn't the congregation sing "Ode to Joy"?
Who was the tenor who sang "Ave Maria"? Beautiful.
Anybody catch that Ronan Tynan was supposed to do "Ave Maria" according to other posts but did "Amazing Grace" instead? That song, haunting however it is performed, was taken to another level, IMO. Combining that with "The Mansions of the Lord" and "We Were Soldiers" theme as the recessional, this has to be the ultimate example of the use of music in a time of grief.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1151544/posts
Thanks for this informative thread..I wondered about the names of the songs. I loved listening to the irish tenor.
bookmarked to read later.
If you all will indulge one more post about "Mansions of the Lord", here is the scoop, as best I know it.
The lyrics were written by Randall Wallace, the director and screenwriter for "We Were Soldiers" (he was also the screenwriter for "Braveheart" and "Pearl Harbor"). The music was written as part of the soundtrack for WWS by Nick Glennie-Smith.
It's wonderful to hear it on the WWS soundtrack, but I must say, if you want the full impact, rent WWS (warning: it's a graphic war movie along the lines of "Saving Private Ryan" - not for the young). As one not normally given to crying at movies, the scene where Mel Gibson's character returns home from Viet Nam got me going, and "Mansions of the Lord" over the end titles REALLY moved me.
A beautiful, majestic tribute to the fallen soldier who now lives in the presence of the Lord God Almighty.
I thought all the music was beautifully done, but was blown away by "Mansions of the Lord". I printed the service out so that I could read the lyrics to the hymns as they were sung. Thanks to those who linked to that information. I will have to buy that movie. I have TIVOed it on my wish list and watched it again. In fact I TIVOed everything about Mel Gibson and have been awash in his movies.
Readers interested in downloading a .pdf file of the entire listing of funeral music played at the Washington National Cathedral can do so here:
http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/pdfs/servicemusic040611.pdf
Please be advised that you will need a minimum of the Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view this file. You can get the free Acrobat Reader here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html
The document prints out to five pages so I won't try to reproduce it here. It includes lyrics, a timeline of events in the service as well as interesting information like this:
"NOTE:
After the service the Bourdon Bell [Tenor bell] is tolled 40 times, representing President Reagan’s
order among the Presidents of the United States. The 4’ 7” Tenor bell (D) weighs 3,588 pounds.
As the Cortège and Processions leave the church, the Washington Ringing Society now rings a halfmuffled
full peal of Stedman Caters, comprising 5101 changes, on the Ten-Bell Ring of
Washington National Cathedral."
I dont know but I absolutely bawled my eyes out. I was doing all right until that song was played. I am SO glad you asked this because I have been wondering about it all day.
A broader question to raise is why these reverential hymns have been replaced by the very "un-edifying" pop/contemporary "Jesus music" in the fundamentalist churches.
The Army Band/Chorus at the Reagan Library on Friday was very good. There was a black soldier there who sang one of the most beautiful solos I've ever heard.
Who was the two-star general who escorted Mrs. Reagan? What is his normal role in the Navy?
I know the officer who presented the flag from the coffin to Mrs. Reagan is the Captain of the USS Ronald Reagan, but I missed his name.
Finally, where will the President be "buried"? Where exactly is the crypt? Somewhere near (or under) the pedestal where the coffin rested at the presidential library at the end of the ceremonies? Anyone know?
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