Dies irae, dies illa

Dies irae, dies illa. Latin sequence*, author uncertain, possibly Franciscan. This chant (Liber usualis,  1810–13) is one of only four Sequences to have been preserved in the Roman rite after the Council of Trent (1543-63). Dreves identifies the lyric text as a pia meditatio — a rhymed verse or a reading-song (Leselied) — that served as a sequence once it became part of the Roman liturgy (Dreves, 1892, p. 523). The Roman Missal prescribes its performance for the Mass of All Souls’ Day [In commemoratione omnium fidelium defunctorum], funeral Masses [In die obitus seu depositionis defuncti], and requiem Masses [In Missis quotidianis defunctorum]. The early transmission of ‘Dies irae’...