Last night I was in a performance of Verdi’s Requiem with Collegium Symphonic. Gee, I’ve done a lot of requia lately, haven’t I? Maybe people are so fascinated by them because of their gravity. Or maybe people are just interested in death.
Verdi was an opera guy, so this Requiem is like stepping up to the edge of The Pit and looking in. It’s fiery in there, orchestra and choir blazing away. Then it all pulls back suddenly and it’s quiet. Really quiet. I’ve seen a triple piano in a Poulenc number before, but what is the singer to make of the quintuple p’s in Verdi’s work? That’s pretty quiet. Do you think he really meant it?
I actually found one thing that kept bugging me, and that was the ‘Dies irae’. If you’ve heard it once, you know it. Loud bass drum, choir at full volume, plunging into the abyss. I love the tune, but the words — day of wrath. It seems to me that one thing religion is good at is frightening people. You’d better be obedient, or you’ll be cast into the lake of fire. It kind of triple-p’d me off.
Which is all the more interesting, because Verdi was an agnostic (if that). People complained that he would even write a Requiem. So Verdi’s Requiem is that of an unbeliever. After all the tempest of the ‘Dies Irae’ and the joy of the ‘Sanctus’, the Requiem ends not with the promise of Abraham (as Mozart’s does), and certainly not with a lush ‘In Paradisum’ (as Fauré’s does). Instead, the chorus drops to a triple-p, and in unison sings only ‘Libera Me’. Free me.
Fantastic experience — the choir was really on, soloists were great, and the orchestra was gorgeous. You really have to catch one of these shows if you’re in town. You won’t have as much fun as I do because you won’t be singing, but you’ll still enjoy it.
22 October 2007 at 10:03 pm
Wow that sounds like an incredible experience. I really envy people who can sing. I can hold a note ok but my voice is not particularly nice and it’s so deep I have sing an octave below everyone else usually. Might be tricky catching one of your gigs 🙁
23 October 2007 at 5:03 am
You’d be a good alto! I think if you can stay on pitch, you can be in a choir. Have you ever tried out? There’s nothing like it, I tells ya.
24 October 2007 at 1:32 am
It was an awesome concert. I was sitting right up the back and I was still getting shivers down my spine for parts of it!
And I agree with Daniel, as much as a piece of music might sound beautiful when you listen to it, there’s nothing like performing it, whether it’s playing it or singing it.
3 February 2008 at 2:38 pm
I hope you don’t mind me doing this Daniel… feel free to delete this ‘advertisment’ if you want it gone.
I only just remembered that your ‘readership’ includes a fair number of music lovers, and tomorrow night (Monday) the West Australian Charity Orchestra is doing their first ever performance at the Perth Concert Hall.
Very late notice, but if anybody is free in the evening and has a few bucks spare ($25-$45 depending on seat) please come along and support them. The orchestra & choir consists of 160 students and other volunteers from around the state, performing everything from Debussy to Holst. All the proceeds go to PMH, and they really need the ticket sales ;P
Anyhow, for those interested (assuming anybody actually reads this in time), the details can be found here. Please come if you can make it.
< ---SPAM ENDED--->
5 February 2008 at 12:46 pm
How was the WACO concert Alarik? I was going to go, but had a rehearsal that night. I think I knew every second person in the orchestra though! Hope Sam didn’t collapse at the end of it!
5 February 2008 at 2:59 pm
It was excellent. The orchestra was brilliant, the choir held its own for most of the pieces (they struggled to keep up on O Fortuna though).
Sam got a standing ovation, much to his embarassment. He seems to have recovered though. He was rested enough to be giving music lessons to my sisters again this afternoon, and I’ve roped him into helping out with another music project for Save the Children ;P