Requiem.
On Saturday I was given the privilege to hear the Virginia Symphony Orchestra along with the Virginia Symphony Chorus perform Verdi's Requiem. It was conducted by JoAnn Falletta and was a beautiful experience. My friend, Nathalie, had free tickets. Mike and I went and were able to also invite my dad (there was an extra ticket!) It was a fun time getting to spend time with Nathalie, my husband and my dad. We attended the lecture before the performance and I enjoyed the insights into the background and motivation behind the music.
It was interesting to understand that so much of this music was a message of mourning and comfort. In the program it says the following,
"Perhaps the most important factor of all in assessing the Requiem's artistic appeal and popular staying power and is that Verdi understood....that those who need comfort from a Requiem are the living."
I understood from the program and lecture that they didn't assume that Verdi looked to the afterlife with much comfort but in fact with fear and concern. That he had a "tragic view of the human condition".
Verdi was a man who experienced loss... in an effort to honor one man's death (Rossimi) he wanted to create a requiem with other leading Italian composers but this effort was eventually abandoned. But when Manzoni (a famous and important Italian author) passed he finished composing this requiem and performed it a year after his death. This wasn't the first time Verdi's life has been marked by loss. He lost his wife and two children with a very short amount of time.
There is beauty and intensity, darkness and light, sweetness and sorrow in his music and lyrics. I do not agree with everything that is said... But there are sections that speak to my heart. Sections in which I find hope.
Donna eis Requiem. Grant them rest. How those words speak to my soul. Not asking for rest and peace in Heaven... there it will be had... but rest and peace here. A reminder that I can cry out to the God of rest and the God of comfort to meet me.
I too long for a requiem. A rest from this grief. The difference though is I know I am saved from this. Saved from this wretchedness and hopelessness. I am not lost. I have been found. Found by Christ. I have a Saviour who rescues me from this "tragic human condition". He saves me from my sin and counts His righteousness as mine.
The time is close. Oh so close. the 7th isn't creeping anymore but lunging itself upon me. I'm going to read a book I just got from the library... Suffering into Joy: What Mother Teresa Teaches about true joy... It sounds encouraging. and then some sleep...
It was interesting to understand that so much of this music was a message of mourning and comfort. In the program it says the following,
"Perhaps the most important factor of all in assessing the Requiem's artistic appeal and popular staying power and is that Verdi understood....that those who need comfort from a Requiem are the living."
I understood from the program and lecture that they didn't assume that Verdi looked to the afterlife with much comfort but in fact with fear and concern. That he had a "tragic view of the human condition".
Verdi was a man who experienced loss... in an effort to honor one man's death (Rossimi) he wanted to create a requiem with other leading Italian composers but this effort was eventually abandoned. But when Manzoni (a famous and important Italian author) passed he finished composing this requiem and performed it a year after his death. This wasn't the first time Verdi's life has been marked by loss. He lost his wife and two children with a very short amount of time.
There is beauty and intensity, darkness and light, sweetness and sorrow in his music and lyrics. I do not agree with everything that is said... But there are sections that speak to my heart. Sections in which I find hope.
Donna eis Requiem. Grant them rest. How those words speak to my soul. Not asking for rest and peace in Heaven... there it will be had... but rest and peace here. A reminder that I can cry out to the God of rest and the God of comfort to meet me.
I too long for a requiem. A rest from this grief. The difference though is I know I am saved from this. Saved from this wretchedness and hopelessness. I am not lost. I have been found. Found by Christ. I have a Saviour who rescues me from this "tragic human condition". He saves me from my sin and counts His righteousness as mine.
The time is close. Oh so close. the 7th isn't creeping anymore but lunging itself upon me. I'm going to read a book I just got from the library... Suffering into Joy: What Mother Teresa Teaches about true joy... It sounds encouraging. and then some sleep...
Comments
I guess I was amazed that I was able to remind myself of truth even when he didn't see hope. Does that make sense?
Hugs Rebekah,
Jennifer