"A day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness." Zephaniah 1:15
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Words: Thomas of Celano, 13th Century (Dies Irae); translated to from Latin to English by William Josiah Irons, 1848. For another version of this hymn, see That Day of Wrath.
Music: "Dies Irae," John Bacchus Dykes, 1861
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Francis Arthur Jones recounts the unusual origin of this work in his Famous Hymns and Their Authors (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1902):
It appears that Mr. Irons was in the French capital during the Revolution of 1848 when, among other atrocities committed, the Archbishop of Paris was murdered. Owing to the revolutionary spirit of the people it was many days before the funeral could take place with any degree of safety to the mourners. About a fortnight later a Memorial Service was held in Notre Dame, at which Mr. Irons was present. The Archbishop's heart, which had been severed from his body, was placed in a glass casket and reverently laid on a raised daïs in the choir so that all who desired to do so might gaze upon it. As the procession of mourners filed by, casting looks of mingled terror and affection on the faithful heart, which had so recently beat in their interests, the entire congregation sang in muffled tones the Dies Irae. As many well be believed the solemnity of the service made a deep impression on the mind of the English clergyman present, and when the congregation had dispersed he returned to his hotel and immediately made his now celebrated translation of the great Latin hymn.