[4/16/2011] Preview: Verdi blows the lid off the whole Krap Kristian hypocrisy (continued)

Tearful that day shall be
when from the ashes shall arise
guilty man to be judged.
Spare him then, o God.

Gentle Lord Jesus,
grant him eternal rest. Amen.

And this is how the Dies Irae ends: The "Lacrymosa" is sung here by mezzo Agnes Baltsa, bass-baritone José van Dam, soprano Anna Tomowa-Sintow, and tenor José Carreras, with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna State Opera Concert Chorus, the Chorus of the Bulgarian National Opera (Sofia), and the Vienna Philharmonic in this June 1984 film.


CURIOUS FACTS DEPT.

Does this tune sound familiar?

VERDI: Don Carlos, Act IV, Scene 2

King Philip mourns over the corpse of the Duke of Posa -- murdered on his order.

Yes, I loved him.
His noble words
revealed to my soul
a new world.
This proud man,
this heart, this heart of fire,
it's I who've thrown him
into the horror of the tomb.

José van Dam (bs-b), Philip; Orchestre de Paris, Antonio Pappano, cond. EMI, recorded live at the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris), March 1996


LISTEN AGAIN . . .

Ezio Pinza, bass; Ebe Stignani, mezzo-soprano; Rome Opera Orchestra, Tullio Serafin, cond. EMI, recorded 1939

Yes, Verdi reused the Don Carlos tune, the only such instance I'm aware of in his career. But in his mind he wasn't reusing it, because -- and I've cheated here by identifying the excerpt as being from Act IV, Scene 2 of Don Carlos -- this portion of the Prison Scene had been cut before the premiere in Paris, and so as far as the composer was concerned, it had never actually been "used."

It's really not much of a loss in Don Carlos, because wonderful as this bit of lamenting is, the rest of the portion of the scene that was cut isn't really very good -- and Verdi eventually found an ideal use for the "lost" tune.


AND HERE AGAIN IS THE WHOLE OF THE "LACRYMOSA"

Tearful that day shall be
when from the ashes shall arise
guilty man to be judged.
Spare him then, o God.

Gentle Lord Jesus,
grant him eternal rest. Amen.

Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano; Ferruccio Furlanetto, bass; Alessandra Marc, soprano; Plácido Domingo, tenor; Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, cond. Erato, recorded c1994


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

We focus on the "Liber scriptus" and "Ingemisco" of the Dies Irae of the Verdi Requiem.


RETURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE POST

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