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

Saint-Saëns - Famous works

The cover of the program of the concert of Camille Saint-Saëns in 1896 in Salle Pleyel in Paris, for the fifty years since its debut in the same venue.


Operas:

  • The Yellow Princess, Opus 30
  • Samson and Dalila, Opus 47
  • Henry VIII
  • Les Barbares

Orchestral:

  • Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Opus 2
  • Symphony No. 2 in A minor, Opus 55
  • Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" in C minor, Opus 78
  • Heroic March in E flat major, Opus 34
  • Danse macabre, Symphonic Poem in G minor, Opus 40
  • The Youth of Hercules, Opus 50
  • One night in Lisbon in E flat major, Opus 63
  • Algerian Suite in C major, Opus 60

Concertante:

  • Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Opus 28

Chamber music:

  • Piano Trio No. 1 in F major, Opus 18
  • Allegro appassionato in B minor, Opus 43 
  • Oboe Sonata in D major, Opus 166
  • Clarinet Sonata in E-flat major, Opus 167
  • Bassoon Sonata in G major, Opus 168
  • Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Opus 75
  • Violin Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Opus 102
  • The Carnival of the Animals

Keyboard Organ:


Choral sacred:

  • Mass, Opus 4
  • Christmas Oratorio, Opus 12
  • The Flood, Opus 45
  • Requiem, Opus 54


Comments