The Chœur classique de Montréal presents one of Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpieces : the Requiem (Messa da Requiem), a magnificent funeral service with choir, soloists and orchestra, comparable to an opera as it includes quartets, arias and choral fugues.
A lyrical and romantic work rather than a mass for the consolation of the living and the rest of the soul, this requiem was written on the occasion of the death of a close friend of Verdi. It was for him a chance to include the Libera me composed at the death of Gioachino Rossini for a mass that had never been completed.
If this powerful work is at times considered to be more dramatic than sacred, it is clear all the same that Verdi is reaching our to human beings, inviting them to become free of suffering through faith.
