dirge

views updated

dirge (Lat. naenia). Burial or memorial song, often with character of funeral march. Shakespeare's Dirge for Fidele (Cymbeline) has been set by several composers incl. Vaughan Williams (1922) and Finzi (1942). The 15th cent. Lyke-wake Dirge was set by Stravinsky (Cantata 1952), Britten (Serenade 1943), and Whittaker (1924).

More From encyclopedia.com