Dies Irae

The hymn was used as a Sequence in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass until the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal . It is suggested in the current Latin Breviary (''Editio Typica Altera'', from 2000 ) for use in the Liturgy Of The Hours during the last week of Ordinary Time , following the feast of Christ The King and leading up to the beginning of the Advent season.

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THE POEM ITSELF

This English translation attempts to preserve the trochaic meter of the Latin for the first four stanzas, in a style appropriate for the program for a performance. Later stanzas are translated more literally. There are many alternative English translations on the Internet, such as {Link without Title} , and on the full Requiem page.

The text:
: ''Dies iræ! dies illa''
: ''Solvet sæclum in favilla''
: ''Teste David cum Sibylla!''

:: Day of wrath and terror looming!
:: Heaven and earth to ash consuming,
:: David 's word and Sibyl 's truth foredooming!

: ''Quantus tremor est futurus,''
: ''quando judex est venturus,''
: ''cuncta stricte discussurus!''

:: What horror must invade the mind,
:: when the approaching judge shall find,
:: and sift the deeds of all mankind.

: ''Tuba mirum spargens sonum''
: ''per sepulcra regionum,''
: ''coget omnes ante thronum.''

:: The trumpet casts a wondrous sound,
:: through the tombs of all around,
:: making them the throne surround.

: ''Mors stupebit et natura,''
: ''cum resurget creatura,''
: ''judicanti responsura.''

:: Death is struck and nature quaking,
:: all creation is awaking,
:: to its judge an answer making.

: ''Liber scriptus proferetur,''
: ''in quo totum continetur,''
: ''unde mundus judicetur.''

:: The written book shall be brought forth,
:: in which is contained all
:: from which the world is to be judged.

: ''Judex ergo cum sedebit,''
: ''quidquid latet apparebit:''
: ''nil inultum remanebit.''

:: So when the Judge shall sit,
:: whatever is hidden shall be seen,
:: nothing shall remain unpunished.

: ''Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?''
: ''Quem patronum rogaturus,''
: ''cum vix justus sit securus?''

:: What am I, wretched one, to say,
:: What protector implore,
:: when (even) a just person will scarcely be confident?

: ''Rex tremendæ majestatis,''
: ''qui salvandos salvas gratis,''
: ''salva me, fons pietatis.''

:: King of awesome majesty,
:: you who save gratuitously those to be saved,
:: save me, fount of pity.

: ''Recordare, Jesu pie,''
: ''quod sum causa tuæ viæ:''
: ''ne me perdas illa die.''

:: Remember, gracious Jesus ,
:: that I am the cause of your journey;
:: do not let me be lost on that day.

: ''Quærens me, sedisti lassus:''
: ''redemisti Crucem passus:''
: ''tantus labor non sit cassus.''

:: Seeking me, you sat exhausted;
:: you redeemed me by undergoing the Cross ;
:: let so much toil not be in vain.

: ''Juste judex ultionis,''
: ''donum fac remissionis''
: ''ante diem rationis.''

:: Just judge of vengeance,
:: grant the gift of forgiveness,
:: before the day of reckoning'.

: ''Ingemisco, tamquam reus:''
: ''culpa rubet vultus meus:''
: ''supplicanti parce, Deus.''

:: I groan, as guilty;
:: my face is red with guilt;
:: spare, O God, a supplicant.

: ''Qui Mariam absolvisti,''
: ''et latronem exaudisti,''
: ''mihi quoque spem dedisti.''

:: You who forgave Mary (Magdalene) ,
:: and heard the plea of the thief ( Dismas ),
:: have given hope to me also.

: ''Preces meæ non sunt dignæ:''
: ''sed tu bonus fac benigne,''
: ''ne perenni cremer igne.''

:: My prayers are unworthy;
:: but you, the Good, show me favour,
:: that I may not be consumed by eternal fire.

: ''Inter oves locum præsta,''
: ''et ab hædis me sequestra,''
: ''statuens in parte dextra.''

:: Grant me a place among the Sheep ,
:: and separate me from the Goat s,
:: placing me at your right hand.

: ''Confutatis maledictis,''
: ''flammis acribus addictis:''
: ''voca me cum benedictis.''

:: When the accursed are silenced,
:: sentenced to piercing flames,
:: call me with the blessed.

: ''Oro supplex et acclinis,''
: ''cor contritum quasi cinis:''
: ''gere curam mei finis.''

:: Suppliant and bowing, I beg,
:: (my) heart contrite like ash:
:: Have a care for my end.

The poem appears complete as it stands at this point. Some scholars question whether the remainder is an addition made in order to suit the great poem for liturgical use, for the last stanzas discard the consistent scheme of triple rhymes in favor of rhymed couplets, while the last two lines abandon rhyme for assonance and are, moreover, Catalectic :

: ''Lacrimosa dies illa,''
: ''qua resurget ex favilla''

: ''judicandus homo reus.''
: ''Huic ergo parce, Deus:''

: ''pie Jesu Domine,''
: ''dona eis requiem. Amen. ''

:: Tearful that day,
:: on which will rise from ashes
:: guilty man for judgement.
:: So have mercy, O God, on this person.
:: Compassionate Lord Jesus,
:: grant them rest. Amen.

INSPIRATION AND OTHER TRANSLATIONS

The inspiration of the hymn seems to have come from the Vulgate translation of Zephaniah I:15-16:

: ''Dies iræ, dies illa, dies tribulationis et angustiæ, dies calamitatis et miseriæ, dies tenebrarum et caliginis, dies nebulæ et turbinis, dies tubæ et clangoris super civitates munitas et super angulos excelsos.''

: That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. ( KJV )

Other images come from Revelation 20:11-15 (the book from which the world will be judged), Matthew 25:31-46 (sheep and goats, right hand, contrast between the blessed and the accursed doomed to flames), 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (trumpet), 2 Peter 3:7 (heaven and earth burnt by fire), Luke 21:26-27 ("men fainting with fear ... they will see the Son of Man coming"), etc.

A number of English translations of the poem have been written and proposed for liturgical use. A version was made by John Newton ; it opens:

: Day of judgment! Day of wonders!
: Hark! the trumpet’s awful sound,
: Louder than a thousand thunders,
: Shakes the vast creation round!
: How the summons wilt the sinner’s heart confound! {Link without Title}

MANUSCRIPT SOURCES

The oldest text of the sequence is found, with slight verbal variations, in a 13th century manuscript in the Biblioteca Nazionale at Naples. It is a Franciscan calendar missal that must date between 1253 - 1255 for it does not contain the name of Clare Of Assisi , who was canonized in 1255, and whose name would have been inserted if the manuscript were of later date.

MUSICAL SETTINGS

The words have often been set to music as part of the Requiem service, originally as a sombre Gregorian Chant . It also forms part of the Liturgy of All Souls Day .

Famous classical versions include those by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Giuseppe Verdi and Hector Berlioz . It has even been recorded in a Rap version.

The traditional Gregorian melody has also been quoted in a number of other classical compositions, among them Berlioz's '' Symphonie Fantastique '', Franz Liszt 's '' Totentanz '', over one-third of the works by Sergei Rachmaninoff , including '' Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini '', '' The Isle Of The Dead '' and the finale of his final large work, the Opus 45 '' Symphonic Dances '', and George Crumb 's Black Angels.

The opening music to Stanley Kubrick 's '' The Shining '', arranged by Wendy Carlos , is based upon the work.

"Dies Irae" ("Day of Wrath") is the title of an instrumental song by Christian heavy metal band Believer . The song features an operatic rendition of the ''Dies Irae'' poem.

"Dies Irae" is the title of a song by Swedish Black Metal band Bathory , from the album '' Blood Fire Death ''.

More modern renderings of both the Lacrimosa (the last 6 lines) and the body of the poem, appear in works such as Preisner 's ''Requiem for my friend''.

'Dies Irae' is also the subject of a concept album by Slovenian orchestrated progressive metal group Devil Doll in which a character describes the Day of Wrath as the world experiences it. The album, aptly-titled "Dies Irae", is all basically one song; however, it is split up into eighteen parts (or sixteen/seventeen, depending on the release edition). The album includes excerpts and quotes from the original Latin hymn as well as " The Fly Song (Night of the Hunter)" by Charles Laughton and Edgar Allan Poe 's " The Conqueror Worm ".

Several verses of Dies Irae appear on the album '''' of the North American Progressive Power Metal band Symphony X .

The Dies Irae from the Roman Mass for the Dead is quoted in the song "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" from '', as well as later on in the work, in a musical Inversion . It is also quoted in "La Vie Boheme" in the musical Rent by Jonathan Larson. The first two verses of it are also used as the chorus in a song by Spanish Power Metal band Dark Moor , entitled "Dies Irae (Amadeus)".

The third and fourth stanzas of the Dies Irae are reinterpreted by the San Francisco quartet Deerhoof in the song "This Magnificent Bird Will Rise", from the album ''Reveille''.

A classical version of 'Dies Irae' is part of the soundtrack to ''''.

'Dies Irae' is referenced several times during the soundtrack to The Matrix Series composed by Don Davis .

REFERENCES IN POPULAR CULTURE

In the movie '' Monty Python's Holy Grail '' several monks can be seen walking and singing the verses

: ''dona eis requiem''
whilst striking themselves on the head with large pieces of wood between verses.

In the hit musical '' Rent '' Collins and Roger sing:

: ''Dies irae dies illa
: Kyrie eleison
: Yitgadal v'yitkadash''

during the song " La Vie Boheme " in the Life Cafe.

Is also used by George in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" by Edward Albee.

In Everquest II , it is a song played throughout several zones.

In the movie '''' ''Dies Irae'' is played during Nightcrawler 's attack in the White House .

In the '' King Of Fighters '' series, it is Wolfgang Krauser's theme music.

''Dies Irae'' was also played during the Pixar short '' Jack-Jack Attack '' included on the '' The Incredibles '' 2-Disc DVD.

The first two lines of ''Dies Irae'' can also be found as the chorus of the German band Subway To Sally 's song ''Tag der Rache'' (Day of the Revenge).

''Dies Irae'' is played briefly, and even Subtitled , during a scene in the episode called 'Killeroo', of the comedy program The Mighty Boosh , where the character Howard Moon has been knocked to the floor in a fight with a Kangaroo .

Mozart 's arrangement of ''Dies Irae'' serves as the background music for the official Trailer of the Japanese horror film Battle Royale , while Verdi 's interpretation of the Hymn was used in the movie's opening scenes.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

EXTERNAL LINKS

''Dies Iræ'' in Latin at The Latin Library

Information About

Dies Irae