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

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SANCTUS Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth! Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Unlike many other composers, who in their settings of this text strive to convey a solemn mood, Verdi creates here exhuberant, joyous music that dwells not on a sentiment of awe but rather on the idea that “heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.” The movement opens with a short introduction in which trumpet fanfares announce the initial threefold acclamation “Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus.” The music then embarks on a fugue for double chorus permeated by a thematic idea first sung by the sopranos. The head of this subject—five ascending notes outlining the tonic chord—recurs persistently endowing the music with great vitality and forward drive. The continuous entrances of this motive, being tossed from voice to voice, seem to portray a great multitude of angels in heaven who vie with each other as they render their praises to God. The dialoguing voices eventually come together and sing in more sustained notes, the two choruses alternating and responding to each other in hymnlike fashion. Meanwhile the orchestra fills the background with lively figuration to maintain the momentum of the music. At the end all voices and orchestra join together, fortissimo, in a final “Hosanna in the highest.” AGNUS DEI Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona eis requiem. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona eis requiem. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona eis requiem sempiternam. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant them eternal rest. In this movement, marked Andante, Verdi maintained a uniform expression by using a single melodic period that is repeated with varying harmonies and instrumental accompaniments. The soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists sing the simple, expressive melody in octaves conveying a deep sense of serenity and confidence. There are no outbursts of despair or expressions of doubt, only a quiet confidence in that the Lamb of God is already disposed to granting the petitioner’s prayers. Following each of the soloists’ three entries, the chorus responds with a restatement of the melody. The dynamic level throughout the movement is subdued hardly rising above piano. LUX AETERNA Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine: Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Lux perpetua luceat eis, Domine: Let eternal light shine upon them, O Lord. With Thy saints in eternity, for Thou art merciful. Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. With Thy saints in eternity, for Thou art merciful. Let perpetual light shine upon them, O Lord. The words of the Lux aeterna partially restate the text of the opening movement. Verdi, nevertheless, did not repeat the same music, preferring instead to reserve the original musical setting for the reprise of the text in the final movement of the work. Written as a trio for the mezzosoprano, tenor, and bass soloists, the music progresses mostly through episodes of dialogue among the voices. There are two passages in which Verdi presents the voices without accompaniment. As in previous movements, Verdi introduces marked contrast between the ideas of light and death. At the beginning the mezzo-soprano intones “Lux aeterna luceat eis” (Let eternal light shine upon them) to the sound of high pianissimo tremolos in the strings. Then the bass sings, in the minor mode, the words “Requiem aeternam dona eis” (Eternal rest grant them) to the dark sound of the bassoons, trombones, and timpani rolls. 8 VERDI REQUIEM
LIBERA ME Libera me, Domine, de morte eterna, in die illa tremenda: quando coeli movendi sunt et terra. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego et timeo, dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira, quando coeli movendi sunt et terra. Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death on that terrible day when heaven and earth are moved, when Thou shalt come to judge the world through fire. I am made to tremble and I fear when the separation and the anger shall come, when heaven and earth are moved. The Libera me is an extended movement for soprano soloist and chorus. It is divided into four distinct sections. The opening section is a declamatory solo for the soloist (the chorus echoes the speechlike entrance of the soprano only in four bars sung pianissimo). The mood is one of agitation created both by the melody being broken off by frequent rests and by an unsettled orchestral accompaniment. Despite the last words “tremens factus, sum ego et timeo” (I am made to tremble and I fear) that the soloist sings to close the section, Verdi writes a soft, quiet ending evidently to enhance the dramatic effect of the music that he is about to unleash. Dies irae, dies illa, calamitatis et miseriae dies magna et amara valde. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Day of wrath, that day of calamity and wretchedness, great and bitter day, when Thou shalt come to judge the world through fire. The second section, written for the chorus, bursts out with great power as earlier in the work. This section is an almost exact reprise of the “dies irae” music, but not all the same words, from the second movement. As the music subsides towards the end, the soprano enters in an agitated state to bring to the fore the words “Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem” (when Thou shalt come to judge the world through fire) while the chorus softly repeats “dies irae, dies illa” (day of wrath, that day) like a refrain. Following the last words of the chorus, the orchestra prolongs, pianissimo, the final harmony in preparation for the next section. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. Eternal rest grant them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. The third section is a reprise of the “requiem aeternam” music from the opening movement of the work but now rescored as a solo for the soprano with choral support only. The orchestra is silent. Here Verdi’s music is one of the loveliest moments in the entire Requiem. Like the first appearance of this music, the dynamic level fluctuates between pianissimo and piano, only once surging to a forte. Beginning in the minor mode, the section soon turns to the major mode but always infused by minor-mode inflections that confer on the music an aura of nostalgia and melancholy. The music ends softly, the soprano singing ethereally a high note. Libera me, Domine, de morte eterna, in die illa tremenda: quando coeli movendi sunt et terra. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death on that terrible day when heaven and earth are moved, when Thou shalt come to judge the world through fire. The final section brings back part of the text from the first, but the music is new. Written for the chorus, with important solo passages for the soprano soloist, the section is an energetic fugue based on a melodic subject that recalls the subject of the Sanctus fugue in an upsidedown form. As it approaches the end, the chorus builds to a climax in which the rhythmic drive of the music seems to acquire a life of its own independently of the text as it distorts the natural accents of the words. Concerning this fugue, a commentator wrote that the piece is “so dynamic and insistent that one seems to sense the clamour of a multitude intent on achieving salvation by violence;” such is the force of this music. In its final bars, the music grows in intensity to the last climax as the soloist ascends to a high note with the support of the entire chorus and orchestra: “Libera me de morte eterna” (Deliver me from eternal death) is the fervent prayer. But the music does not end loud; almost all of a sudden it becomes subdued, decreasing to a pianissimo, all the voices in unison repeating the final plea: “Deliver me.” In the end it is not the commotion of loud cries but the “still small voice” that reaches God’s ear. René M. Ramos Loma Linda, 2012 For much of the material in the notes, I am indebted to David Rosen, Verdi: Requiem, Cambridge Music Handbooks (Cambridge University Press, 1995). VERDI REQUIEM 9
Page 1 and 2: VERDI REQUIEM 1
Page 3 and 4: REQUIEM Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Page 5 and 6: Rex tremendae Rex tremendae majesta
Page 7: OFFERTORY Domine Jesu Christe, Rex
Page 11 and 12: Growing up in Patagonia, Argentina,
Page 13 and 14: THE CHOIR Soprano Alto Tenor Stepha

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

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