Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Verdi's Requiem

Verdi conceived his masterpiece of a Requiem on a grand scale and is as dramatic and powerful as any of his operas. Some critics were distressed at the overtly theatrical character of the music. Some called it sensational and irreligious, yet the most overtly dramatic moments also provide its most moving and even devout passages. The whirling tumult of the Dies irae or the majestic trumpet summons in the Tuba mirum convey a terrifying vision worthy of those from the Book of Revelations. Whatever may have been written about it, audiences loved it and Brahms himself wrote that only a genius could have written such a work. It stands as an honest spiritual testament from a man who naturally conceived and described his experiences in powerful, direct and theatrical terms.