Performing and composing ideas
Some of the techniques found in Verdi's Requiem can be transferred to other performances and composing. By understanding the effects of each may develop musicianship skills. They are shown here in this table.
| In performance | In composing | |
| Dynamics, phrasing, articulation | Pay attention to all of the composer’s instructions to ensure that the music achieves its intended effect. | Use a wide dynamic range in order to create drama and tension. Add detail such as staccato and legato instructions. Look at how the melodies are phrased and add phrase marks and slurs in the score to help an instrumentalist interpret these in the way you would like them to be played. |
| Tonality | Before learning a new piece of music, work out whether the music is in a major or minor key and if it modulates. Make sure the correct emotion and mood of the music is conveyed. | Write a short melody in a major key then transpose the same melody into a minor key to create a different mood and contrasting section. |
| Harmony | Understanding of the harmony of a piece of music can help make sense of the individual’s or ensemble’s part. Even if one note is played, knowing how this note relates to the chord or sequence of chords being played by the orchestra can allow a greater degree of music expression. | Develop a simple melody by adding a major or minor third on top of the original note. Add a fifth and more degree of the scale to explore other levels of harmony. |
| Dynamics, phrasing, articulation | |
| In performance | Pay attention to all of the composer’s instructions to ensure that the music achieves its intended effect. |
| In composing | Use a wide dynamic range in order to create drama and tension. Add detail such as staccato and legato instructions. Look at how the melodies are phrased and add phrase marks and slurs in the score to help an instrumentalist interpret these in the way you would like them to be played. |
| Tonality | |
| In performance | Before learning a new piece of music, work out whether the music is in a major or minor key and if it modulates. Make sure the correct emotion and mood of the music is conveyed. |
| In composing | Write a short melody in a major key then transpose the same melody into a minor key to create a different mood and contrasting section. |
| Harmony | |
| In performance | Understanding of the harmony of a piece of music can help make sense of the individual’s or ensemble’s part. Even if one note is played, knowing how this note relates to the chord or sequence of chords being played by the orchestra can allow a greater degree of music expression. |
| In composing | Develop a simple melody by adding a major or minor third on top of the original note. Add a fifth and more degree of the scale to explore other levels of harmony. |
Impact
When Verdi was born, Italy consisted of a group of small kingdoms and principalities, with little more to unite them than a common language. At the time of his death in 1901, Italy had become a unified country. Historians believe that Verdi and his music played a crucial role in this unification, as his operas provided the patriotic soundtrack needed for mobilising and inspiring the masses to make the dream of a united country come true. He has been acknowledged as probably the greatest composer Italy had ever produced and has influenced many other composers including the British composer, Benjamin Britten.