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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Beethoven - Für Elise

The beauty moved Beethoven and used to dedicate the music to his beloved. His work Für Elise was believed to have been written for his student Therese Malfatti.


This work belongs to the musical genre "bagatelle" - short work, light, with simple technique, usually for piano. Beethoven is the first to highlight the genre, having composed three series of such works.

Für Elise is the most popular work of the composer in this musical form. Some of Beethoven's biographers believe that the work was not dedicated to Eliza but to Therese and the change of title is due to a copycat error. If so, then Beethoven almost certainly dedicated the work to his student Therese Malfatti. Beethoven was in love with his young student at the time and wrote the play taking into account his student's limited piano skills. The work was written in 1810 but was not published until 1867.

This simple, unpretentious work is one of the composer's most sensitive. The opening theme is unusual because the melody is spread out in both hands - a blend of the resonant low part of the piano and the higher more vocal expanse of the instrument. The original music ends and follows an antithetical part with a more assertive character. The mood becomes more lively with the quick playing of the right hand. But suddenly the music reaches a sudden leap and we are again led to the serenity of the opening part.

At this point, as the music heads to a completion, Beethoven adds a final section with repetitive notes of bass. This section has its own few final meters, the glowing canvas of notes for the right hand that elevates the music to the largest extent of the piano. A descending scale then leads to a repeat of the original melody, which quietly completes the work.



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