Verdi’s Requiem: “Dies irae”

James Levine leads the Met Orchestra and Chorus during the final dress rehearsal. 2017–18 Season.

[Jaydoggy]

And thus every science fiction movie soundtrack ever was born.

[kirklandau]

This is quite possibly one of, if not THE most powerful couple minutes of music ever created in all of known/recorded history. “Dies Irae” is one of a select few candidates for perhaps the ultimate pinnacle of the entire classical oeuvre, which is *really* saying something... classical music in all its depth and all its glory and all its historical vastness, yet these several minutes of composition stand above possibly all else. Why??? It is the epitome of the Universal/Final Judgment, it expresses all of the core anguish and yearning and hope and despair at the very core of the human condition and this mystery we call “Life” (and “Death”). Here Life and Death, agony and ecstasy, doom and salvation, Armageddon and peace, worldliness and spirituality, masculine and feminine, good and evil, fate and free will, acceptance and defiance, stoicism and rage, beauty and horror, desire and detachment, light and dark, creation and destruction, dreams and nightmares, mystery and understanding.... all of these converge in a paradoxical contradiction that turns out to be a higher synthesis or resolution. It is a tragic ode to Western Civilization at its highest glory right before the precipice of its inevitable downfall and it is a requiem for mankind in general, for humanity was approaching its self-imposed demise. We essentially Judged ourselves and condemned our species to an Apocalyptic doom. We are living in the Universal/Final Judgment right now. In a sense we always have been. But now we are reaching a climax. This music is extremely fitting for the present state of civilization and humanity. We are in the Apocalypse right now. Most of us just don’t realize it. We yearn for hope and higher meaning and salvation whilst we are increasingly engulfed by the abyss. But “Dies Irae” ultimately expresses the *Yin-Yang* of Tao, and that is the essence of it all. Like a Phoenix we shall rise from the ashes. From human to post-human. We must embrace Destiny, Karma, and Mother Nature. Gaia and the Cosmic Beyond. We have become disconnected from Nature. We have too long repressed the Divine Feminine. We are becoming lost in the material and the virtual and the artificial. Recognizing the problem is the first step to moving forward.

“Dies Irae” is the definition of the *SUBLIME*

[obgfoster]

How fitting on the day we lost Dmitri Hvorostovsky. A great loss for the music-loving world.

[PERIL_]

Speed this up to 1.5x n it’s literal metal

[chacewilson]

This year neztusuji middle school class e was chosen from among 43, 000 9th grade classes this year‘s game. It was even more blistering than the last.

[wotan]

It’s nice to see James Levine on the podium again. Will a performance be dedicated to the memory of Dmitri Hvorostovsky?

[blobbything]

I AM THE SCALES OF JUSTICE, CONDUCTOR OF THE CHOIR OF DEATH. SING, BROTHER HECKLER. SING, BROTHER KOCH, SING! SING!

[art.demirjian]

Heavenly and very powerful allowing my mind and soul to have significant amount of energy to the point that my eyes fills with tear of wonderful Spiritual Inspiration. I felt that something extremely exciting poured on top of my head and moved all the way to my feet! What a wonderful feeling of Life and Light.
🌟❤😇🍷🌟

[ericaashby]

Does anyone know where I can watch this entire performance? Does the met have it broadcasting on it's site?

[danielmoses]

I guess the orchestra just feels more comfortable in their pit. Like a hermit crab in its shell.

[LoneWolfSonata]

The feeling when your mom comes in and asks if you took the chicken out of the freezer…. You didn’t

[joechurrbro]

This song describes the feeling i get when i go to the toilet, tense.

[junker_]

when Germany Declares war On Poland In Hoi4

[DrEru]

I like vandelli's version more but this is not bad either.

[phruitty]

Great piece of music. But I liked watching the ad before it more.

[skykingjason]

Wow who is Verdi and why did he rip off Joyryde's song Fuel Tank???

[brassicac]

THE BRITISH ARE COMING
THE BRITISH ARE COMING

[crazyjaybe]

Why are they flipping pages? They're saying like 9 syllables...

[Schlemiel-schlimazel]

That was a weird setting! A bunch of people standing. A few people sitting, while a bat out of hell disembodied ghost orchestra whales away!