Giuseppe Verdi - Messa da Requiem

Although Requiem was a religious work, it was presented more in concert halls than in churches. Giuseppe Verdi wrote the famous Requiem in honour of his close friend, Alessandro Manzoni, the great Italian poet, writer, and humanist, who died in 1873. It is a powerful fusion of intense drama and passion, with moments of reverent simplicity. Verdi conducted the first performance at St. Mark's Church in Milan on May 22, 1874, the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. Revolutionary composition Verdi's Requiem has been revolutionary in two respects: First, because while the traditional requiem is a prayer of the living for the dead, Verdi's work was a function as much for the living as for the dead. As Verdi would expect, it's a dramatic, theatrical play. Written for four solo voices (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass) with full choir and orchestra, it follows the typical Roman Catholic Latin mass for the dead. The "libretto" certainly comes from the dram
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Tschaikovsky - 1812 Overture, op. 49

Tchaikovsky's Overture 1812 expresses Russia's nationalist spirit for the Russians' magnificent victory over Napoleon.

In 1880, when he was writing the charming Serenade for Strings, Tchaikovsky undertook to compose a "ceremonial introduction" for an exhibition of industrial art in Moscow. As a theme of his introduction he chose Napoleon's Russia Campaign, which ended with the great victory of the Russian Army. At first the composer intended the introduction to be for outdoor performance and felt that it should be "very loud and noisy". Since then the introduction has become his most famous and most popular concert work.

The "1812 Overture" is in fact an introduction to a concerto, in other words is a stand-alone work of orchestral music and not an introduction to opera or a more extensive work. The play describes the invasion of Russia by Napoleon's troops in 1812 and their retreat and defeat in the winter of the same year. Despite the composer's doubts about the music, it is certainly a very successful anniversary project.

It begins gently and ritually with the strings that play the melody of an old Russian anthem. Soon the music becomes rhythmic, as Napoleon's troops are promoted to Russia. Tchaikovsky depicts the warring troops using escerpts from the French national anthem (La Marseillaise) and various Russian traditional melodies.

The Spirit of Mother Russia

But another theme that violins play high, invokes the insetheless spirit of Mother Russia. The sound of the cannon and the cymbal squash, recalls the battle of Borodino, near Moscow (the French arrived in Moscow, but were soon forced to retreat due to devastation they suffered from the terrible Russian winter).

The introduction celebrates the final Russian victory with musical cannons and a joyous bell, while the brass instruments triumplantly announce the theme of the Russian national anthem.


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