Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vogebam here with another classic episode. This
Speaker 1: topic is a favorite of mine. Concerns a tune that
Speaker 1: became a sort of musical word or phrase for death
Speaker 1: and gloom, and it absolutely permeates pop culture. I'll let
Speaker 1: former Lauren explain. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogebam here. You've
Speaker 1: heard it during Star Wars, The Shining, even Home alone.
Speaker 1: For decades, clever composers have woven elements of a particular
Speaker 1: medieval dirge into film soundtracks to convey a sense of
Speaker 1: dread and general doom where the script calls for it
Speaker 1: no widely as the Day of Wrath. The original Latin
Speaker 1: title for this piece is ds Era, which can also
Speaker 1: translate to such sunny concepts as Judgment Day, the end
Speaker 1: of the world, and death in general. The piece features
Speaker 1: a mere handful of notes. Here's the basic tune. It
Speaker 1: was originally composed back in the thirteenth century by a
Speaker 1: Franciscan monk named Thomas of Solano. Little did he know
Speaker 1: that one day his piece would be revered, repurposed, and
Speaker 1: otherwise showcased in many of the biggest films to hit Hollywood.
Speaker 1: Hardly what we would call a complex musical work by
Speaker 1: today's standards, the piece doubles as a requiem chant and
Speaker 1: features some pretty sobering Latin lyrics translated into English. The
Speaker 1: first two lines read day of Wrath, the day that
Speaker 1: will dissolve the world into burning coals. Here's a sample. Yes, Yes, Yes.
Speaker 1: Mozart and Verdi are just two of the composers who
Speaker 1: wrote original requiems based on ds era. The hymn's first
Speaker 1: big movie exposure was in ninety Citizen Kane, but the
Speaker 1: musical motif once you Know What to look For is ubiquitous.
Speaker 1: It's prominently featured in the opening strains of The Shining
Speaker 1: and a variation on it is included in the ultra
Speaker 1: famous Jaws theme. Very appropriately, we might add, the shark
Speaker 1: is death and doom manifested. It's in Star Wars when
Speaker 1: Luke Skywalker faces the loss of his aunt and uncle,
Speaker 1: and it's used throughout the Lord of the Ring series
Speaker 1: to build a sense of foreboding. Occasionally, composers go with
Speaker 1: a winking approach when incorporating the dirge into a soundtrack.
Speaker 1: In the stop motion animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Speaker 1: An entire song Making Christmas is based around the sequence,
Speaker 1: and in the nineties blockbuster hit Home Alone, our young
Speaker 1: hero Kevin is regaled with the urban legend of old
Speaker 1: Man Marley, the rumored South Bend shovel slayer. When Kevin
Speaker 1: lays his eyes on the guy, composer John Williams cues
Speaker 1: up a well placed strain of ds eerie to get
Speaker 1: the point across. Kevin is terrified and his imagination is
Speaker 1: running away with him. But ds erae isn't only effective
Speaker 1: in films. The University of Georgia, for example, uses it
Speaker 1: to intimidate their opponents into accepting the impending doom that
Speaker 1: the song implies. It's a staple at u g A
Speaker 1: football games and is frequently played the crowd by the
Speaker 1: Georgia Redcoat Marching Band. Today's episode is based on the
Speaker 1: article why soundtracks Love the Day of Wrath on how
Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Written by Aleiah Hoyt, with musical
Speaker 1: pews provided by David W. Collins. For more from David,
Speaker 1: including a full and fabulous episode about ds era as
Speaker 1: popular music's word for death, check out his podcast. The
Speaker 1: soundtrack show brain Stuff is production off I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff Works dot com, and it's
Speaker 1: produced by Tyler clang Or More podcasts from my Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.