The Presence Of Fate In Giuseppe Verdi's Music

On October 2, 2017, around 7:30 p.m. I attended a performance, titled “Fifth and Fate”, by the Texas State Symphony Orchestra that took place in the Evans Auditorium. The performance featured Giuseppe Verdi’s Overture to Nabucco (1842) and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 E minor op.64 (1888). According to the program, Overture to Nabucco, one of Verdi’s first notable compositions, comes from his opera that centered on four Acts based on the biblical books about Nebuchadnezzar II. In addition, Symphony No. 5 E minor op.64 is founded on the idea of fate and one’s experience in the presence of fate. Giuseppe Verdi’s Overture to Nabucco introduced itself with a trombone chorus that consisted of a mild pitch and moderate tempo. Consequently,

The trombones, however, are abruptly interrupted by the string and percussion instruments, in which are louder (forte) and more passionate. The startling contrast between the trombones and the string and percussion instruments created a sense of disruption and uncertainty, while still returning to a slightly stable mood. Furthermore, the string and percussion instruments were followed by two more breaks and increases in tempo and pitch until the performance resigned back to its original, pleasant, melody of the trombones. Amidst a short break, the melody interchanged between becoming louder (crescendo) and softer (piano), but, despite the exposition’s aggressive abruptness, the general mood transitioned into a sense of longing and optimism, which shaped the developmental section of the overture’s Sonata form. Furthermore, softer (piano) parts of the developmental stage consisted primarily of wind instruments which permitted a wistful sound, thus alluding to a sense of passive longing. Subsequently, the louder (forte) portions of

5 E minor op.64, is separated into four separate movements. The first movement begins with a mellow theme, played in a very soft (piano) E minor at a relatively slow tempo, predominantly centered on the woodwinds, with an accent provided by the string instruments, which help in giving the melody a linear motion. As the beginning theme began to subside, an increasingly passionate mood is introduced by an ascending scale, in which several instruments contribute. Said spikes in pitch were all followed by recessions in which the bassoon initiated the restatement of the beginning theme. Therefore, the exposition of the symphony is established, and gave off a feeling of reflection and apprehension. The second movement of the symphony began with a low pitch provided by the string instruments, which slowly became louder (crescendo) and was complimented by the addition of the french horn. The mood therefore was relatively somber. However, as the pitch rose, the pace too began to change as several wind and percussion instruments came into play. The mood then obtained a heightened sense of unity and assuredness, but not without recession, for the acceleration in pace was temporary. The pace of the performance later halts, and the musicians of the string instruments began to pluck, which created a simplicity that alluded to the essence of a realization. Afterwards, the symphony reinstated the initially established theme, and concluded with a