Apparebit repentina is an anonymous abecedarian Latin hymn on the Day of Judgement. Since it is mentioned by Bede, it is believed to date to the 7th century or earlier.
English translation
It was translated into English by John Mason Neale as "That great Day of wrath and terror" in his collection Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences (3rd ed. 1867).
Metre and form
The hymn is composed in an accentual version of the trochaic septenarius metre, and is praised by Bede as a good example of a trochaic hymn in the rhythmic (accentual) style.[1]
Scriptural imagery
In its imagery of the Day of Judgement, the hymn draws mainly on Matthew chapter 25 and on the Book of Revelation.
Musical setting
The text was set for mixed chorus and brass instruments by Paul Hindemith in 1947.[2]
References
- 1.Bede, de Metris, Keil 7.258.
- 2.Bruhn, Siglind (2015). "Apparebit repentina dies: Hindemith's musical panorama of Judgment Day". Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology. 14: 34–47. doi:10.14746/ism.2014.14.2.