Four Notes

The Dies Irae has four notes.

This refrain is one that has been repeated countless times throughout musical history.

It was originally a medieval Latin poem with rhyming lines and stress accents.

You may have heard it in the Mass for the Dead, or the catholic Funeral Mass (Roman Rite Requiem).

Bum bum bum bum.

Ha. Words fail this. Google it and listen.

The chant or melody has shown up at various moments in history, many of which you’ll recognize:

1. The Shining - main theme (D flat, C, D flat, B flat which is just a bummer of a sound)
2. Sweeney Todd - “swing your razor” as the accompanying lyrics to this line of notes in the primary number (Sondheim is a whole study in dissonance, of course)
3. And if you have a five year old like me, you’ll recognize it as Elsa’s call to the unknown: “ah, ah, ah, ah” in Frozen 2. That is the Dies Irae

Even if you aren’t musical, its progression is easy to understand:

• It starts on a note, then goes half a step down (creating the ultimate discordant sound - ick)
• From there, it goes half a step back up to the original note
• Then, one and a half steps out to resolve (sweet relief)

It’s Gregorian and somber.

Serious.

Ominous.

Sends chills up your spine.

And it illustrates this:

We can enjoy tension deeply… but long for resolution.

Even four simple tones, slow and minor, leave you itching for a satisfying conclusion.

Don’t leave me on a second. Let me expand to the richness of the chord.

It’s a human instinct:

People want resolution.

We enjoy the tension.

But we have to sing out those final notes to get back to base.

We have to tap out the rhythm to finish the piece.

Tension makes life interesting. But we can’t live there.

I often talk about how entrepreneurs have a high tolerance for tension, but that doesn’t mean we eat dinner on a high-wire.

We all come back to earth.

To a touchpoint.

Grounded.

Resolved.

So, the reflection is this:

How are you building a haven to return to after sojourning in the beauty of minor melodies?

Are you constructing a home — physical or metaphysical — that represents safety and belonging and the full and final chorded exhale?

You are responsible for this.

It’s the truest form of self care.

To create space for yourself to release all tension and return to stasis.

To the one.