Threnody

A threnody is a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person (synonyms include dirge, coronach, lament, elegy, and requiem).

The term originates from the Greek word threnoidia, from threnos (lament) + oide (song). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European root wed- (to speak) that is also the forefather of such words as ode, tragedy, comedy, parody, melody, and rhapsody.

One recent example is Krzysztof Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima; a classic jazz threnody is I Remember Clifford, written to honour the memory of Clifford Brown.

"Threnody" is the title of a famous poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson written in memory of his son, who had recently died.

Liszt's piano series Années de Pèlerinage includes two 'Thrénodies' set in the context of the Villa d'Este.

The music of the opening credits of the movie X-Files: Fight the Future, though in no way reminiscent of an actual threnody, is entitled Threnody in X, possibly in reference to the torched X-files.

Threnody is a mutant character in the X-Men comics.

Threnody is a character in the Xanth series of novels by Piers Anthony.

Threnody is also a category of song that the Bard class can play in Final Fantasy XI.

Another Threnody found in modern music is the song A Threnody For Modern Romance by the metalcore band It Dies Today.

Robert Fripp has a song from his solo album Exposure called Threnody For Souls In Torment.

And yet another example of its use in music is the Storm & Stress song: "We Write Threnodies. We Write With Explosions."

Former ABBA member Anni-Frid Lyngstad, in her post-ABBA solo singing career, has also recorded a musical version of the poem "Threnody" which can be found on her 1980s album "Shine". Anni-Frid has been quoted as describing the poem as something that has inspired her through tough times.

The San Francisco duo Two Gallants recorded a song entitled Threnody In Minor B for their 2006 album What The Toll Tells on Saddle Creek Records.

A 2004 musical drama, Sandakan Threnody, dramatizes the suffering of Allied prisoners of war at Sandakan POW Camp, North Borneo, in 1942-45. The play was written by Australian composer Jonathan Mills, whose father survived a term of imprisonment at Sandakan, in 1942-43.