Dies Irae

American  

[dee-eys eer-ey] / ˈdi eɪs ˈɪər eɪ /

noun

1. a Latin hymn on the Day of Judgment, commonly sung in a Requiem Mass.

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Dies Irae British  

/ ˈdiːeɪz ˈɪəraɪ /

noun

1. Christianity a famous Latin hymn of the 13th century, describing the Last Judgment. It is used in the Mass for the dead

2. a musical setting of this hymn, usually part of a setting of the Requiem

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Etymology

Origin of Dies Irae

literally: day of wrath

Example Sentences

At the end, the Disney organ, with its wood pipes, plays, as the forest burns, an angry Dies Irae.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2022

Still, the books wouldn’t have to face that Dies Irae for a while yet.

From Washington Post • Sep. 30, 2020

Even if not every section is equally successful – the Dies Irae registers as surprisingly jolly for the day of judgment – the best is bold and distinctive.

From The Guardian • Jul. 6, 2011

Mr. Kalmar led his players in a taut, passionate account, with superb woodwind and brass playing and pointed percussion in the Dies Irae and a haunting string tone in the closing Requiem Aeternam.

From New York Times • May 13, 2011

It must not be thought that, because so much attention is given to the Dies Irae, this constitutes the only supremely great hymn of the Thirteenth Century.

From The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)