Verdi''s "Requiem"
I was listening to Verdi's "Requiem" - an operatic composition set on the lines of Roman catholic mass; dedicated to his close friend and great Italian writer Alessandro Monzani. Reclining on my couch with a Julian Barnes book in hand, the slow movement and tenor of the Soprano in chaste and undecipherable Latin rises layer after layer into a rarefied atmosphere of pure sound, and heart stirring octaves. The hundred odd violins carry and jettison the restrained passion and deep pathos of Leontyne Price (arguably the most prolific operatic tenors of the twentieth century). At some time during the second movement of the mass, The book I was reading involuntarily dropped onto my chest ,and I lost contact with what i was reading; mesmerized and transported into the hallowed world of Renaissance; inside the Basilica of a Catholic church, gilded in gold , with priests in purple vestments and the choir boys and girls in pure white flowing robes, standing erect with their voices lost in beauty of the verses and eyes looking up to the heavens; the immense void of the cathedral suffused with light pouring forth through its ornamented windows and cornices - and 'I' standing at very center of it...
For a few timeless moments, the waves of music engulfed me. The epicenter of my being was shifted to a higher plane of awareness. It was the small ticking sound of LP record's finish that awakened me to my normal senses. It then took a few minutes to reorient myself in time. The power and persuasive structure of Verdi's composition had stilled the mind; and its absence all that remained was the music devoid of any listener....
History has it that Verdi conducted this opera in the lesser known church of San Marco in Milan, 1874. It was a tribute to Monzani, whom he admired and befriended. Generations of Conductors, singers and musicians have since then performed the "Requiem" across various auditoriums in Europe. It stands as a testimony of one man's vision of grace transcending the limitations of Time and space.
"Requiems, George Bernard Shaw observed, "is to be offered as a treat, whether anyone is dead or not" . True, every musically sensitive ear should experience the enchanting beauty of its choruses at least once, a definite taste of immortality.......
God bless............
For a few timeless moments, the waves of music engulfed me. The epicenter of my being was shifted to a higher plane of awareness. It was the small ticking sound of LP record's finish that awakened me to my normal senses. It then took a few minutes to reorient myself in time. The power and persuasive structure of Verdi's composition had stilled the mind; and its absence all that remained was the music devoid of any listener....
History has it that Verdi conducted this opera in the lesser known church of San Marco in Milan, 1874. It was a tribute to Monzani, whom he admired and befriended. Generations of Conductors, singers and musicians have since then performed the "Requiem" across various auditoriums in Europe. It stands as a testimony of one man's vision of grace transcending the limitations of Time and space.
"Requiems, George Bernard Shaw observed, "is to be offered as a treat, whether anyone is dead or not" . True, every musically sensitive ear should experience the enchanting beauty of its choruses at least once, a definite taste of immortality.......
God bless............
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