Dies irae

Even if you don't know it by name, there's a good chance you'd recognize the musical theme of Dies Irae. The dark tune has been used to represent death in classical music and pop culture for more than 100 years, but the melody itself goes back centuries.

day of wrath The Dies Irae movement is traditionally an allegro, fast and energetic. Verdi's Dies Irae is similarly energetic. "Dies Irae" translates to "day of wrath" so it is thematically appropriate to make it a cataclysmic and terror-filled movement, as if the sky was falling, so to speak.

Sometimes described as a hymn, Dies Irae originated as a 13th-century Gregorian chant used in Catholic requiems or funeral masses. “Dies irae” are the first lyrics in that chant, and the often quoted, four-note melody sung on those lyrics is the Dies Irae most people are familiar with.

One of the most famous sequences of Gregorian chant, Dies Irae – “Day of Wrath” – describes the Last Judgment of souls before God where the saved will go to heaven and the unsaved cast into eternal flames of suffering.

The entire movement is a rollercoaster ride of fear, rage, panic, protest and longing all mixed into one cohesive musical expression.

Sometimes described as a hymn, Dies Irae originated as a 13th-century Gregorian chant used in Catholic requiems or funeral masses.

This 13th-century plainchant melody has since been used by composers throughout time to symbolize death, despair, and impending doom.

The descending notes and minor key create a somber, ominous feel. It can be instrumental or vocal, with or without the Ominous Latin Chanting, but it always sounds like something isn't right. Dies Irae, Dies Illa quotes and references can create a sad, gloomy, or dark atmosphere.

Dies Irae reminds us that the future of the just is hopeful; and although the day of reckoning must inspire a just and reverential fear, a virtuous life can enable us to await the coming of our Good Shepherd with joy and hope.

The poem describes the Last Judgment, the trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames. It is best known from its use in the Roman Rite Requiem (Mass for the Dead or Funeral Mass).

On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson.

The Dies irae comes down dramatically in dynamics, with tension building within both the chorus and the orchestra. The strings are playing fast tremolos, and the winds are interrupting the low rumble from the chorus and strings. The piece comes to a resolution at the end, which then goes straight into the Tuba mirum.