Dies irae!

A friend of mine is an amateur soprano in various choirs and whenever she performs, I attend the concert. I am so to say her groupie. As these choirs perform classical music, they often have in their concerts ecclesiastical music. Apart from listening, I also look through the translation of the Latin lyrics in the programme booklet. Often these texts are more adaptations of the Latin than real translations. Anyway, my favourite  is a Requiem, the mass for the deceased. Of course the version by Mozart is by far the most welknown, but dozens of other composers have put the text to music. It is called Requiem, because the introitus – the opening verse – starts with Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. `Give eternal rest to them, O Lord.’.  The main body of the text however is a mediaeval poem, attributed to Thomas of Celano (1200-1265), a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi. It became widely popular and was soon incorporated in the funeral mass.  One doesnt need to be Christian to appreciate the simple, but powerful structure of the text. Well, listen to some Requiem and read the Latin. It is not difficult. As day of wrath still has to come, you will meet a lot of future tenses!

For more information and  2 English translation of the Dies irae:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_Mass

1
Dies iræ! dies illa
solvet sæclum in favilla
teste David cum Sibylla!

saeclum:   world, universe

favilla, ae:  hot cinders or ashes

David: Hebrew names or often not declined in Latin. For the testimony see Psalm  101:27 `ipsi (coeli) peribunt’

Sybilla stands for the 12 Sybills of the Sybille Oracles, a collection of Jewish/Christian oracles of the first centuries AD in which

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibylline_Oracles

2
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

stricte: severely, meticously

discutio: to investigate

3
Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulchra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

regionum: i.e. all regions of the world

4
Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

stupeo: to become stupified

5
Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

scriptus: Revelation 20:12: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+20&version=KJV

6
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit:
nil inultum remanebit.

lateo: to be hidden

inultus: unrevenged

7
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

patronus: a patron was in Roman society someone who protected a client in retutrn for the client’s vote at elections, so: a protector.

vix: hardly

8
Rex tremendæ majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me, fons pietatis.

qui: you who

gratis: out of free will

9
Recordare, Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuæ viæ:
ne me perdas illa die.

recordo: to remember (in Classical Latin the deponens recordor is used)

via: the way life and suffering

perdo: destroy

10
Quærens me, sedisti lassus:
redemisti Crucem passus:
tantus labor non sit cassus.

quaero: to seek

lassus: tired

Quaerens me, sedisti passus: the whole phrase is an allusion to John 4:6: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4&version=KJV

In the pericope John 4: 1-42 Jesus reveals himself to a Samaritan woman as the Messias. The poet indentifies himself here with the Samaritan woman.

cassus: fruitless

11
Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.

ultio, -onis: revenge

remissio –onis: forgiveness of sin

ratio- onis: reckoning

12
Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
culpa rubet vultus meus:
supplicanti parce, Deus.

ingemisco: to groan

reus: guilty

culpa: abl!

parco + dat: to spare

13
Qui Mariam absolvisti,
et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Maria: Maria Magdalena

latro, -onis: thief, robber. The reference is to the thief hanging next to Jesus at the cross.

14
Preces meæ non sunt dignæ:
sed tu bonus fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.

prex, precis: prayer

cremo: burn

15
Inter oves locum præsta,
et ab hædis me sequestra,
statuens in parte dextra.

ovis, ovis: sheep

praesto: to give

haedus: goat

sequastro: separate

statuo: to set, place (object: me)The whole stanza is an allusion to Matth.25: 31 - 34 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25&version=KJV

16
Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis:
voca me cum benedictis.

confutatis…addictis: abl. abs.

confuto: to destroy

maledictus: cursed

acer, acri: sharp

addictus: consecrated, given over

17
Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis:
gere curam mei finis.

supplex, -icis:  kneeling

acclinis: bowing

contritus: crumbled

cinis, cinis: ash

gere curam: + gen. take care for

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:

18
Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:

19
Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem. Amen.