19th century opera is not for me. I don't like the dramatic effusions of Verdi, Wagner, Donizetti and others from that all-too romantic century. Give me any time 18th century opera (Mozart, Handel, the opera arias of Vivaldi), or 20th century opera: Richard Strauss, Alban Berg, Korngold, Zemlinsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and many others (see my articles about 20th c. opera). So Verdi' is not an important presence for me and I was going to skip his Requiem, also because it is another big one with stormy music, and I have already included Berlioz. But then, it is one of the most famous choral works from the canon, "showing Verdi's genius in concentrated form" as the verdict is... so after all, let's listen to it!
Verdi's Requiem is of course pure opera. Throughout the work, he uses powerful rhythms, high-flown melodies and dramatic contrasts - as he did in his operas - to express the powerful feelings aroused by the text. The eerie (and instantly recognizable) "Dies Irae" with which the traditional sequence of Latin death rites begins is repeated throughout the work to achieve unity, which allows Verdi to explore the feelings of loss and worry, as well as the human longing for forgiveness and mercy that appear in the intervening sections of the Requiem.
Trumpets surround the stage to produce an inescapable call to Judgment in the "Tuba mirum" (the combination of quadruple fortissimo markings for the brass and chorus lead to very loud passages), and the oppressive atmosphere of the "Rex tremendae" creates a sense of unworthiness for the King of Great Majesty. Nevertheless, the well-known tenor solo "Ingemisco" radiates hope for the sinner asking for the Lord's mercy. Verdi arranged the duet "Qui me rendra ce mort? Ô funèbres abîmes!" from the fourth act of Don Carlos into the wonderful "Lacrymosa," which ends this sequence.
The joyous "Sanctus" (a complicated eight-part fugue written for double chorus) begins with a brass fanfare to announce Him "coming in the name of the Lord" and leads to an angelic "Agnus Dei" sung by the female soloists with the chorus. Finally comes the "Libera me," Verdi's earliest music in the Requiem. Here the soprano cries out, pleading "Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death ... when Thou comest to judge the world with fire."
What caused Verdi to switch from opera to choral church music? When Gioachino Rossini died in 1868, Verdi suggested that a number of Italian composers collaborate on the composition of a Requiem in honor of Rossini, and he began by submitting a "Libera me." During the next year, a Messa per Rossini was composed by 13 composers (the only one now known is Verdi himself). The premiere was scheduled for Bologna on the first anniversary of Rossini's death in 1869, but the performance was canceled and the piece fell into oblivion. In the meantime, Verdi continued to play his "Libera me," frustrated that the joint memorial Mass for Rossini would not be performed during his lifetime.
In May 1873, the Italian writer and nationalist Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi had admired throughout his adult life and whom he had met in 1868, died. Manzoni's novel I promessi sposi ("The Betrothed") in particular made an indelible impression on him. Manzoni fell down the stairs at a church in 1873, at the age of 88, and died several months later from the effects. As Verdi explained, he was so inconsolable that he felt unable to attend Manzoni's funeral. Several weeks later, he visited the grave in Milan alone. He then informed the Milan city council that he wanted to compose a Requiem in memory of Manzoni.
At that time, Verdi was 60 years old and at the height of his powers. He had just completed his opera Aïda; Otello and Falstaff were still ahead of him. Expectations were immediately very high, and the Milan city council authorized the performance of the work on the condition that the premiere be held in Milan on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.
The Requiem was first performed at St. Mark's Church in Milan, under Verdi's direction on May 22, 1874. The church could not seat all the interested people so many stayed outside. The Messa da Requièm gained great acclaim in Italy and Europe. In Italy, the work became so popular that it was also performed in various arrangements. Critics were generally very positive. But some dared to be somewhat critical and did call the Requiem "very operatic" because the wild and sometimes very passionate music was not in keeping with the text which is actually based on the Roman-Latin Mass for the Dead. Verdi was not a practicing Roman Catholic and in reality was more of an agnostic and perhaps even a complete non-believer. The conductor Hans von Bülow called the Requiem "an opera disguised as an ecclesiastical work" in which he helped thicken the allegations some more. Francis Toye, a Verdi biographer, expressed that '... the Requiem is really not an ecclesiastical work but an elaboration by a master dramatist using the words of the liturgy to channel the composer's emotions.'
But the general opinion seems to be that Verdi's Requiem stands at the pinnacle of 19th c. church music, with amongst others, the Missa Solemnis by Beethoven. Am I convinced? Not so much... When it has to be a work with massive forces, and lots of drama, I much prefer the Requiem (and Te Deum) by Berlioz, who is a composer who really touches me with his beautiful French melodies, while Verdi leaves me unmoved...
Listen to: hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ MDR Rundfunkchor ∙ Solisten ∙ Andrés Orozco-Estrada
(This article incorporates translated and edited parts from the Creative Commons Dutch Wikipedia article about Verdi's Requiem)
Choral Masterworks