PERSPECTIVES REGARDING THE QUARTET IN THE WORKS OF GIUSEPPE VERDI
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Babeș-Bolyai University / Cluj University Press
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In speech, the meaning of words dictates the intonation of a sentence, while the musical phrase within an opera is shaped according to this natural inflection. Thus, musical ideas and phrasing remain simple, yet expressive and natural. This gives vocal music a distinct advantage over instrumental music, as opera singers are better able to fulfil the composer’s intentions. The score of Giuseppe Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor (1873) contains precise performance indications that shape the ethos of the work. For instance, the marking incalzando refers not only to an acceleration of tempo but also to an agitated state of mind. Although Verdi’s only purely instrumental composition, the quartet synthesizes the full orchestral and vocal apparatus of an entire opera within the medium of four string instruments. Moreover, through indications such as incalzando, morendo, dolcissimo, and leggierissimo, the work conveys the same emotional states that in opera are communicated by means of stage design, costumes, characters, their interactions, and the expressive power of words set to music. While Verdi’s contribution to the chamber music repertoire is relatively limited, he is the composer of some of the most celebrated vocal quartets in opera, as well as the renowned Messa da Requiem. The present paper examines the vocal quartet from Rigoletto alongside the String Quartet in E minor, highlighting their distinctive features and exploring the similarities that reveal Verdi’s operatic conception of the quartet.