Quattro pezzi sacri

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Verdi's age photo 1899

Quattro pezzi sacri (Four sacred pieces) are a cycle of church music vocal works by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi . The fourth part, the Te Deum from 1895–1896 , apart from the Stabat Mater from the same cycle, is considered to be Verdi's last major composition.

The cycle consists of the following compositions:

  1. Ave Maria (in Latin, for four a cappella voices: soprano , alto , tenor and bass , composed 1889, revised 1897)
  2. Stabat mater (in Latin, for mixed choir and orchestra, composed 1896–1897)
  3. Laudi alla Vergine Maria (based on a text by Dante Alighieri from the Divina Commedia in Italian, for four female voices a cappella: Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto I, Alto II, composed 1887–1888 between Otello and Falstaff )
  4. Te Deum (in Latin, for double choir with soprano solo and orchestra, composed 1895–1896)

Emergence

After completing the opera Aida and the Messa da Requiem , completed in 1874 , Verdi took a compositional break. Nevertheless, Verdi created various smaller religious works, such as a Pater Noster and an Ave Maria in 1880 . After completing the composition of Otello (1887), an Ave Maria sulla scala enigmatica was written in 1889 , revised in 1897, which was included in the Quattro pezzi sacri, and in 1894, one year after the completion of Falstaff, a Pietà Signor for voice and piano.

Towards the end of his life, Verdi returned to his origins as a church musician with the Quattro pezzi sacri. As early as 1871, Verdi had put forward the thesis in a letter: Tornate all'antico, sarà un progresso! (Returns to the old, it will be a step forward) As a result, Verdi occupied himself in his last creative phase with Johann Sebastian Bach's B minor Mass and especially with the compositions of Palestrina , whom he described in 1895 as the “true prince of church music”. Despite this appreciation, the Quattro pezzi sacri, with the exception of the Laudi alla Vergine Maria, are largely free of Palestrina's influences.

Verdi initially hesitated to publish the Quattro pezzi sacri, but in October 1897, after prolonged pressure from his publisher Ricordi, he decided to give the individual parts of the cycle to print after reviewing it again.

The compositions

Ave Maria

Enigmatic ladder on c, base for Verdi's Ave Maria

Verdi was inspired in 1889 to compose the Ave Maria by means of a scale (scala enigmatica, enigmatic scale ) with the tone sequence c – ds – e – f sharp – g sharp – a sharp – b – c, the Adolfo Crescentini (1854–1921) in Ricordi's music newspaper Gazetta musicale di Milano had published and which should be harmonized by interested readers. Verdi processed the tone sequence in an Ave Maria for four voices a cappella . The scale is first played in the bass, then successively in the alto, tenor and soprano, while the remaining voices form a harmonious network. Before the final premiere of the entire cycle, Verdi revised the work in June 1897. The performance lasts about 6 minutes. Verdi initially referred to the “Ave Maria” as “sciarada”, a charade in the sense of a solved riddle. Through his fundamental revision of the composition, Verdi harmonized the "harmonic curiosity" (the title of the scale in Ricordi's music journal) a total of eight times.

Stabat Mater

In contrast to the Ave Maria , which is performed a cappella , Verdi occupied the Stabat Mater with a mixed choir (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) and a large orchestra with 3 flutes , 2 oboes and 2 clarinets . 4 bassoons , 4 horns , 3 trumpets , 4 trombones , percussion ( kettledrum and bass drum ), harp and strings .

The work is strictly composed, without word or text repetition, whereby there is a rich chromaticism. The alternation of aria-like melodies, a cappella passages and dramatic outbursts is characteristic of the work. At the end there is a hymn-like upsurge in Paradisi gloria , “before the pain dies in the lower strings”.

The performance lasts about 12 minutes.

Laudi alla Vergine Maria

Laudi alla Vergine Maria is again an a cappella work for four female voices, Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto I, Alto II. The performance lasts about 6 minutes.

The work is based on a short prayer from the closing song of Dante's Paradiso from the Divina Commedia . Musically, Verdi works partly with the counterpoint of Renaissance music . The almost unadorned composition was considered so catchy by the audience at the time that it achieved the greatest success at the premiere and had to be repeated.

Te Deum

The concluding Te Deum is a large-scale choral work with a double choir (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a short soprano solo and a large orchestra with 3 flutes , 2 oboes , English horn , 2 clarinets , bass clarinet , 4 bassoons , 4 horns , 3 trumpets , 4 trombones , percussion ( kettledrum , bass drum ) and strings . The work is based on a single cantus firmus-like motivic cell. The performance lasts about 15 minutes. Verdi himself suggested 12 minutes.

The work begins Gregorian with a presented by the male choir Te Deum Laudamus te Dominum confitemur , the unison a cappalla the entire male choir responsorial will continue. With the onset of the mixed choir and the sometimes vigorous orchestra, dramatic scenes follow, whereby the resumption of the musical language of the Messa da Requiem is striking. As a result, Gregorian chant and tutti alternate. At the in te speravi towards the end of the piece there is a short soprano solo which, according to Verdi's instructions, should be performed by a choir singer as the “[voice of] mankind” and repeated by the choir. Like the Libera me in the Messa da Requiem, the piece ends contemplatively in a short orchestral episode.

Reception and aftermath

The first performance of the cycle, but without the Ave Maria , took place on 7/8. April 1898 at the Paris Opera as part of the concerts of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire under the direction of Paul Taffanel (1844–1908). Verdi, who was still recovering from a minor stroke, sent the librettist and composer Arrigo Boito on his behalf , to whom he gave various verbal and written instructions about his performance requests. The Italian premiere of the cycle, also without the Ave Maria, took place on May 26, 1898 in Turin under the direction of Arturo Toscanini , who had previously consulted Verdi. The Ave Maria was included in the Vienna premiere on November 13, 1898 under Richard von Perger . In the same concert, the soloists in the Ave Maria and Laudi were replaced by a women's choir.

Despite Toscanini's commitment to the Quattro pezzi sacri, the cycle remained undervalued for a long time. Still Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) wrote in the Enciclopedia della musica that the Quattro pezzi sacri "no great value have". In the meantime, however, Hans Gál's assessment has prevailed: "You are the most personal statement and so turned inward that a concentrated empathy is required to receive your message."

Verdi himself considered the final Te Deum to be his best work and allegedly even wanted to take the score to his grave.

Nowadays the Te Deum in particular is performed in concerts, while the entire cycle is rarely heard. Contrary to Verdi's instructions, the Ave Maria and Laudi alla Vergine Maria are often sung by a female choir instead of soloists.

Adaptations

  • The enigmatic scale of the Ave Maria was taken up and processed by Luigi Nono in 1979 as the basis of his string quartet Fragments - Stille, An Diotima .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Julian Budden: Verdi Leben und Werk , Stuttgart 2000, p. 344.
  2. ^ Julian Budden: Verdi Leben und Werk , Stuttgart 2000, p. 346.
  3. ↑ a b c d Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 504.
  4. ↑ Letter to Francesco Florimo, quote and translation at Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi manual , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p 504th
  5. ↑ Quotation from Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 504.
  6. ↑ a b c Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 505.
  7. ↑ See also ZDF Theaterkanal / 026 23-29 January 2010  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.schattenblick.de  
  8. ↑ For interpretation and quotation see Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 506.
  9. ^ Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbook , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 506.
  10. ↑ a b Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 507.
  11. ↑ Complete quote from Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 507.
  12. ↑ a b Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 508.
  13. ↑ Quotes from Pizetti and the revaluation by Hans Gál from Uwe Schweikert: Quattro pezzi sacri , in: Anselm Gerhard and Uwe Schweikert, Verdi Handbuch , Metzler Kassel, Bärenreiter Stuttgart and Weimar 2001, p. 505.
  14. ^ Julian Budden: Verdi Leben und Werk , Stuttgart 2000, p. 350.