A Disney Requiem? Iterations of the “Dies irae” in the Score to The Lion King (1994)

Abstract

Abstract:In Hans Zimmer’s score to The Lion King (1994), the “Dies irae” melody not only functions as a standard shorthand for death (as in many scores) but is also of underlying structural importance in several of the film’s cues. Thus, the tune retains a sense of secularized association with death while reclaiming some of its spiritual associations with the Requiem Mass.