Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (1813 – 1901) was
an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was
born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate
means, receiving a musical education with the help of a
local patron. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera
scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo
Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti, whose works
significantly influenced him.
In his early operas, Verdi demonstrated a sympathy with
the Risorgimento movement which sough...(+)
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (1813 – 1901) was
an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was
born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate
means, receiving a musical education with the help of a
local patron. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera
scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo
Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti, whose works
significantly influenced him.
In his early operas, Verdi demonstrated a sympathy with
the Risorgimento movement which sought the unification
of Italy. He also participated briefly as an elected
politician. The chorus "Va, pensiero" from his early
opera Nabucco (1842), and similar choruses in later
operas, were much in the spirit of the unification
movement, and the composer himself became esteemed as a
representative of these ideals. An intensely private
person, Verdi did not seek to ingratiate himself with
popular movements. As he became professionally
successful, he was able to reduce his operatic workload
and sought to establish himself as a landowner in his
native region. He surprised the musical world by
returning, after his success with the opera Aida
(1871), with three late masterpieces: his Requiem
(1874), and the operas Otello (1887) and Falstaff
(1893).
His operas remain extremely popular, especially the
three peaks of his 'middle period': Rigoletto, Il
trovatore and La traviata. The bicentenary of his birth
in 2013 was widely celebrated in broadcasts and
performances.
After Verdi finished his opera Aida and in 1874 the
Messa da Requiem, he retired from composing for years,
writing only minor sacred compositions such as a Pater
Noster and an Ave Maria in 1880. The earliest of the
Quattro pezzi sacri in terms of its composition date is
what came to be known as Laudi alla Vergine Maria
(although Verdi himself did not give it that title). It
was composed between 1886 and 1888, during which time
he was also working on his penultimate opera, Otello,
which premiered in 1887. The second of the Pezzi to be
composed was the Ave Maria, whose setting is built on
an enigmatic scale. He originally composed it in 1889
and revised it for publication in 1897. The Te Deum was
begun in 1895 two years after the premiere of his last
opera, Falstaff. It was finished in the summer of 1896.
The Stabat Mater followed, and all four pieces were
sent to Verdi's publisher, Casa Ricordi, in June
1897.
Laudi alla Vergine Maria is another a cappella work,
set for four solo female voices. It is based on a short
prayer from in Canto XXXIII of Dantes's Paradiso, the
third part of his Divina Commedia. Verdi alludes on the
counterpoint of Renaissance music. Each stanza is
introduced by a new motif. Biographer Budden describes
the piece as "with the subtlest of harmonic and
rhythmic inflexions, unashamedly modern in character".
The audience requested a repetition when it was first
performed. Publisher Schott renders the subtitle as
"Tolte dall' ultimo canto del "Paradiso" di Dante per 4
voci feminili, sole" (Taken from the ultimate song of
"Paradiso" by Dante for 4 female voices, solo).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Verdi).
Although originally written for Chorus (SATB), I
created this Interpretation of "Laudi alla Vergine
Maria" (Thou are the living fountain-head of hope) from
"Quattro pezzi sacri" (No. 3) for String Quartet (2
Violins, Viola & Cello).
