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.
This five-voice work is an unusual and interesting
piece, of moderate difficulty and well worth
investigation for any concert programme. It ranges in
mood from meditative, devotional stillness to dramatic
contrasts of a more extrovert, operatic nature. Verdi
composed Pater Noster in 1880 soon after writing his
monumental Requiem. The text he used for this music is
in Italian even though the title is in Latin. This
mystery is not too difficult too solve as Verdi was an
ardent nationalist and was determined to promote
Italian culture and history with any means possible.
Pater Noster (Our Father who art in heaven....) is one
of Verdi's least familiar works, yet of supreme
beauty.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Usper).
Although originally written for Chorus (SSATB), I
created this Interpretation of "Pater Noster" for
Woodwind Quintet (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, French Horn
& Bassoon).
