Chris Stuetzle wrote:

>In a band over the summer, I played Des Irae from Requiem, but I can't
>find the piece anywhere.  I'd lvoe a copy of the song played by a real
>ochestra.  Can anyone tell me the name of a compilation or something of
>that nature with Des Irae on it.  And for anyone out there who hasn't heard
>this song.  I suggest you liten to it.  It blew me away.  Fun to play too.

"Dies irae" is the spelling, actually, and means "day of wrath".  The text
is from the Catholic Requiem mass ("mass for the dead"), and has been set
by quite a few composers.  I would hazard a guess that the arrangement you
had a part in performing is by Guiseppe Verdi, probably the most famous
"Dies irae" on record.  (It is often used in movie trailors and the like;
so is the famous opening chorus from Orff's "Carmina Burana".)

As far as recordings go, there a quite a few good ones out there.  I own
a copy by John Eliot Gardiner/ORR (on the Archiv label).

Mark K. Ehlert