Dies irae - with Lyrics and Translation - Requiem Mass Propers - Latin Gregorian Chant

The Requiem Mass (Missa Defunctorum or Missa de Profunctis) may be preceded by the first part of the Rite of Burial for Adults and the Office for the Dead. The Requiem Mass is taken from the Mass for All Souls’ Day. The Roman Missal offers additional Mass prayers for anniversaries of the day of death, and special prayers for clergy and kings. There are many beautiful music settings for the Requiem Mass

"Dies irae" "the Day of Wrath" is a Latin sequence attributed to either Thomas of Celano of the Franciscans. The sequence dates from the 13th century at the latest, though it is possible that it is much older, with some sources ascribing its origin to St. Gregory the Great (d. 604), Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), or Bonaventure (1221–1274).

It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and rhymed lines. 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.

The first melody set to these words, a Gregorian chant, is one of the most quoted in musical literature, appearing in the works of many composers. The final couplet, Pie Jesu, has been often reused as an independent song.

The "Dies irae" has been used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite liturgy as the sequence for the Requiem Mass for centuries, as made evident by the important place it holds in musical settings such as those by Mozart and Verdi. It appears in the Roman Missal of 1962, the last edition before the implementation of the revisions that occurred after the Second Vatican Council. As such, it is still heard in churches where the Tridentine Latin liturgy is celebrated. It also formed part of the pre-conciliar liturgy of All Souls' Day.

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