DIES IRAE, DIES ILLA! is the Latin title of Hymn #537, “Day of Wrath, O Day of Mourning!” (the chief hymn for this Sunday). The opening lines are taken from Zephaniah 1:15 (Latin version of the Bible, translated): “That day is [or: will be] a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress …”
The author is Thomas of Celano (13th century). This medieval hymn is a very clear preaching of Law and Gospel. “There is nothing in this hymn offensive to Lutheran Christians. It is truly Biblical throughout. It is the poor sinner seeking grace and mercy with God. It is evangelical, emphasizing the free access to God’s throne of grace without the mediation of pope, church, or saint. It is recognized as the most sublime hymn of the Middle Ages.” (Library of Christian Hymns, a companion volume to the Lutheran Hymnary)
As a part of the liturgy for Christian burial service it was heard wherever in the world such services were conducted. As a result it became part of the shared heritage of whole cultures, particularly in the western world. As a result, many of the greatest authors, poets and musicians have used this text to great effect. Sir Walter Scott used it in the conclusion to his poem Lay of the Last Minstrel. The German author Goethe used it in his greatest work, Faust, in this way: the heroine faints from fear and anguish as she hears this hymn sung in the cathedral church, and from that hour her personality is completely changed. Mozart put it to unforgettable music in his last work, his Requiem.
The hymn has had such an important place in the musical literature of the church that “in Great Britain and America no hymn-book of any note has appeared during the past hundred years without the “Dies Irae” being directly or in directly represented therein.” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Handbook (Online Draft edition))
Although the tune in our Hymnary is not particularly easy, it is memorable and any difficulty is outweighed by the way it sets forth the hope of the gospel in the face of the most fearful moment faced by every human soul.
(Thanks to the late Rev. Wilbert Werling and his grandson, Rev. Jerry Gernander for portions of this article.)