Giuseppe Verdi — Messa da Requiem (1874)

Katharina Persicke — soprano
Claude Eichenberger — mezzosoprano
Michael Feyfar — tenor
Dominik Wörner — Bass

Basel Sinfonietta cond. Fritz Krämer
regioChor Binningen/Basel dir. Kristīne Jaunalksne
Oratorienchor Baselland dir. Fritz Krämer

Upon the death of Italian poet Alessandro Manzoni on 22nd May 1873, Giuseppe Verdi was commissioned to write a funeral mass. This composition was an appropriate way for him to pay last honours to the revered author of I promessi sposi and supporter of the risorgimento. He stayed away from the funeral however, preferring to visit the tomb alone at a later stage. The fact that the Messa da Requiem would be performed exactly on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death was so important to Verdi that he demanded a formal decision on this from his publishers before handing over the score to them. And indeed, the Messa da Requiem was heard for the first time on the 22nd May 1874 in the church of San Marco in Milan under the direction of the Maestro himself. Three days later it was performed at Milan's Scala, followed by performances in Paris, London and Vienna.