Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific … Read Full Bio ↴Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".

Born in Salzburg, then in the Holy Roman Empire and currently in Austria, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position.

While visiting Vienna in 1781, Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years there, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas. His Requiem was largely unfinished by the time of his death at the age of 35, the circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologized.

Requiem in D minor K.626
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla
Quantus tremor est futurus
Quando iudex est venturus
Cuncta stricte discussurus
Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla

Teste David cum Sibylla
Quantus tremor est futurus
Quando iudex est venturus
Cuncta stricte discussurus
Quantus tremor est futurus
Dies iræ, dies illa
Quantus tremor est futurus
Dies iræ, dies illa
Quantus tremor est futurus
Quantus tremor est futurus
Quando iudex est venturus
Cuncta stricte discussurus
Cuncta stricte (cuncta stricte)
Stricte discussurus

Cuncta stricte (cuncta stricte)
Stricte discussurus

Overall Meaning

The lyrics are from Mozart's Requiem in D minor K.626, which is a choral work composed in 1791. The opening section of the work is the Dies Iræ, which is a Latin hymn that describes the Day of Judgment. The lyrics themselves describe the terror that people will feel on the Day of Judgment, as everything they have done in life will be reviewed and judged by a stern judge. The opening lines of the hymn, Dies iræ, dies illa, translate to "Day of wrath, day of doom," and sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics.

The hymn is divided into several sections, each of which deals with a different aspect of Judgment Day. The lyrics describe the end of the world when everything will crumble to ash, and the dead will rise from their graves. The fear and trembling of those who are judged and punished is also highlighted in the lyrics. The final section of the hymn describes the plea for salvation and the hope of being saved on the Day of Judgment.

Line by Line Meaning

Dies iræ, dies illa
This is the day of wrath, that infamous day.

Solvet sæclum in favilla
The world shall be reduced to ashes.

Teste David cum Sibylla
As David and the Sibyl have testified.