| "Requiem" | |
|---|---|
| Choral composition byGiacomo Puccini | |
| Catalogue | SC 76 |
| Occasion | In memory ofGiuseppe Verdi |
| Text | Antiphon of theRequiem |
| Language | Latin |
| Performed | 27 January 1905 (1905-01-27) |
| Scoring |
|
"Requiem", SC 76, is a composition for choir, viola andpump organ orpipe organ thatGiacomo Puccini wrote in 1905. Commissioned by his publisher, Puccini set theLatinantiphon of theRequiem mass on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the death ofGiuseppe Verdi.
Puccini composed the work on a commission of his publisherGiulio Ricordi on the occasion of the forth anniversary of the death ofGiuseppe Verdi.[1] The autograph score is dated 14 January 1905,[1] which is possible the day of composing.[2] The work was first performed on 27 January 1905 by the choir ofLa Scala in Milan, conducted byAristide Venturi, at the chapel of theCasa di Riposo per Musicisti that Verdi had founded.[1]
The composition was also performed on 29 December 1924 at a memorial concert for Puccini at theMilan Conservatory, and again on his 50th anniversary of death on 30 November 1974. The music was first published in 1976 by Elkan & Vogel in New York City,[3] followed by a 1990 edition in Italy. A critical edition was published in 2005 byCarus-Verlag in cooperation with the Fondazione Puccini and the Centro studi "G. Puccini" in Lucca, edited by Michele Girardi.[1]
The composition is score for a three-part mixed choir, (STB, withdivided parts at times), a solo viola andpump organ orpipe organ.[1] The duration is about four minutes.[3]
The composition of 57measures is inD minor andcommon time, markedAdagio sostenuto.[1]: 5 It is in a ternary form, A B A'.[1] The voices sing mostly inunison in the outer sections. In the middle section, the solo viola enters, and the divided voices respond to it; this feature reappears in a shortcoda.
The main theme begins as an upward scale in nine steps which arechromatic in the end. The musicologist Michele Girardi regarded this theme as an homage at theEnigmatic scale that Verdi had set in theAve Maria from hisQuattro pezzi sacri.[1] The complex harmonies change with every step of the scale, creating tension. Puccini would use a similar technique in the chorus "Ombra dolente, non farci del male!" in his operaTurandot.[1] The work ends with aplagal cadence,[1] with the choir ending on thesubdominant, while the organ returns to thetonic.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescat in pace.
Amen.
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