The Structure of the Verdi Requiem

There are just a few days left before our Verdi Requiem concert, so to give you a final taste of the power of this work, and to aid in your understanding, here is a brief description of the various sections that make up this particular Requiem Mass.  Keep in mind that composers made choices concerning which portions of the Mass text to set to music, and Verdi was no exception.

Actually an exploration of the texts composers chose to set is a fascinating study on its own—for instance, a number of nineteenth- and twentieth-century composers did not set the Dies irae (Day of wrath) texts, and speculation abounds as to why—but that’s beyond the scope of this blog!

Here are the portions Verdi set, with a brief summary of their meanings.

1^st movement—consists of three subsections:

Requiem æternam—Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and shine your light on them.

Te decet hymnus—a hymn is owed to thee, Lord; hear my prayer.

Kyrie eleison—the only Greek text in any Mass, translates as “Lord, have mercy.”

2^nd movement—consists of nine sections:

The first two, Dies irae and Tuba mirum, describe the coming of judgment day.

The next section, Liber scriptus addresses the opening of the book of judgment, by the great

            Judge of all.

The next five, Quid sum miser, Rex tremendæ, Recordare, Ingemisco,and Confutatis, record

personal reactions in the face of exposure and judgment, and confessions of penitence and pleas for salvation.

The last section, Lacrymosa, is full of weeping over sin, and a prayer for rest and mercy.

3^rd movement, Offertorio—consists of three subsections, two of which repeat at the end:

The first, Domine Jesu Christe, is a prayer for deliverance from the bottomless pit, the mouth of

            the lion, Tartarus, or hell.

The second, Quam olim Abrahæ, reminds God that He promised this deliverance to Abraham

            and his seed.

The third, Hostias, renders offerings and praise to God for the souls of the departed.

4^th movement:

Sanctus, which proclaims the coming of the Blessed one who brings salvation.

5^th movement:

Agnus Dei—“Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest,” stated three

            times.

6^th movement:

Lux æterna is a prayer for eternal light, mercy and rest for the saints in eternity.

7^th movement, Libera me—consists of four subsections:

First, a prayer for deliverance from death;

Then a repeat of the Dies irae section from the second movement;

Then a repeat of the Requiem æternum from the first movement;

And to end, a setting of the Libera me text that begins this movement, but with new music that

            carries great emotional power.

I hope this all too short description will aid in your understanding of this tremendously gripping work.  And to whet your appetite a little more, watch this recording of Zubin Mehta conducting an Italian chorus in the first movement.  It will give you some idea of how Verdi conveyed meaning through the wedding of music and text.

 

Dr. Linda Gingrich

Artistic Director and Conductor

Master Chorus Eastside