dirges

The bard, the rhapsodist, the extemporaneous singer of war-chants and dirges, is the only representative of literature at that early stage in the history of a people; and it is not till the arts of peace have taken their place side by side with the arts of war, that poems are written, not sung – that histories are recorded with the pen, not carved out by the sword.

Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers 1891

In proof of this, we have but to recall the dirges and triumph songs, the reflective lyrics, and the liturgical hymns that compose the collection we know as the Psalms.

The Menorah Journal, Volume 1, 1915 Various

In the following quotation 'dirges' are mentioned by name.

Shakespeare and Music With Illustrations from the Music of the 16th and 17th centuries 1900

The band played a mixture of dirges and spirituals that seemed to elevate the emotions of many, but those elegies left Sisko feeling more lost and alone than ever.

Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

They are helped immensely by Paul Wills's ingenious coal-barge set; Howard Harrison's stormy lighting; and especially by Adam Cork's sounds of the angry sea, complemented occasionally by the singing of some other-worldly sea shanties that might, in another context, be taken for dirges.

Law Conquers Sea, Stage and Hearts Paul Levy 2011

"Blues Queen of New Orleans" Marva Wright, who died in March at 62, was honored this year as members from several Social Aid and Pleasure clubs solemnly led family members and fans to the monuments site with brass-band-led dirges.

Another day at Jazz Fest ends on a high note 2010

The band played a mixture of dirges and spirituals that seemed to elevate the emotions of many, but those elegies left Sisko feeling more lost and alone than ever.

Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

The band played a mixture of dirges and spirituals that seemed to elevate the emotions of many, but those elegies left Sisko feeling more lost and alone than ever.

Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

But while Beach House favors hazy, willowy dreamscapes and Wye Oak plays sturdy, dynamic dirges, Lower Dens works somewhere in the middle.

In concert: Lower Dens at Millennium Stage David Malitz 2011

They were a great band in their day, but that doesn't give Radiohead the right to keep releasing bizarre dirges that sound like C-3P0 being murdered.

If tokenism is what it takes to get on, so be it | Barbara Ellen 2011