LLUC Verdi Requiem Concert Program - Loma Linda University ...

Tuba mirum
Tuba mirum spargens sonum
Per sepulchra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum.
A trumpet, spreading its wondrous sound
through the graves of the earth,
will summon all before the throne.
Directly connected with the preceding section, the “Tuba mirum” begins with a series of fanfarelike calls by the brasses. For this Verdi requires
four off-stage trumpets that dialogue with the orchestra brasses, first softly but then with growing intensity and increasing rhythmic activity. The
effect of the trumpets summoning the dead to appear before the judgment throne is overwhelming. The listener is forcefully made aware of the
gravity of the moment. With the support of the brasses, fortissimo, the choral basses present the text first and then the sopranos pronounce the
syllables slowly on a long, sustained note as if unable to overcome their astonishment at the scene. The section ends abruptly with a loud chord.
Mors stupebit
Mors stupebit et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Judicanti responsura.
Death and nature will stand stupefied
when the dead arise
to answer Him who judges.
The “Mors stupebit,” allotted to the bass soloist, is a short section characterized by a short, insistent motive whose notes are broken by rests and
long pauses. This melodic idea in the orchestra vividly portrays Death’s amazement before the judgment throne. The soloists intones the words
with a dotted-note rhythm, ascending by steps with ever growing urgency only to sink down into almost complete speechlessness and silence at
the end.
Liber scriptus
Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.
Judex ergo cum sedebit
Quidquid latet, apparebit:
Nil inultum remanebit.
[Dies irae, dies illa,
Solvet saeclum in favilla:
Teste David cum Sibylla.]
The written book shall be brought forth
in which all is contained
whereby the world is judged.
When the judge, therefore, takes his seat,
all that is hidden shall appear;
nothing shall remain unpunished.
[Day of wrath, that day
will dissolve the world into ashes
as David and the Sibyl bear witness.]
The mezzo-soprano soloist brings to mind Daniel’s vision of the Judge, who will open the books to judge the world according to the deeds
recorded in them. At the beginning the accompaniment, punctuated by soft timpani rolls, is ominous, but then becomes agitated with a fast
rumbling bass. The orchestra brasses come again into prominence to announce the presence of the Judge (“Judex ergo”). The section ends
with another passage broken up by rests in which the spectator falters under the weight of the scene. Throughout the section the choir recalls
the “dies irae” motive in dark, subdued tones. After the soloist’s final outcry, the orchestra grows in intensity and agitation, leading to the first,
abbreviated, return of the “dies irae” music.
Quid sum miser
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus,
Quem patronum rogaturus,
Cum vix justus sit securus
What am I to say then, wretch that I am
Whom shall I call as patron
when scarcely the just may be secure
With this section, the poem turns to the first person. The individual is no longer a spectator narrating the scene unfolding before his eyes but a
participant in the events of the drama. The music introduces a characteristic ascending figure in the solo bassoon that dominates much of the
section. The tempo is Adagio and thus it introduces a moment of respite in the intensely unsettling music of the preceding sections. The three
soloists—mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass—state the text four times, the first three times ending with a beautiful cadential gesture that fails,
however, to come to a complete closure. At the conclusion of the section, the soloists, unaccompanied, repeat the words, one line at a time. The
music, ending with no resolution, thus graphically portrays the desolation of the penitent standing alone without apparent protection. From a
musical point of view, the stark nakedness of this conclusion sets in high relief the vision of the “King of great majesty” in the ensuing section.
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VERDI
REQUIEM