Maynard and Verdi: Tool's Requiem

[AguirreWrathOfTool]

Here's an observation some may find interesting-The genesis of Wings bears a strong similarity to that of Verdi's Requiem (1874).

Verdi was primarily an opera composer who didn't have anything to do with Church music, as he was a headstrong religious skeptic. Nevertheless, he was so strongly affected by the death of poet and national hero Alessandro Manzoni, a man who the composer saw as a light among human darkness (he said "With him dies the purest, holiest and highest of our glories") that he wrote a Requiem in his honor, one that (by the nature of the traditional text used) employed Christian imagery and terminology to communicate his message. Writing the Requiem allowed the composer to wrestle with his ideas about religion...ultimately calling for a peaceful resting place in Heaven for someone he loved, regardless of Verdi's own beliefs. The resulting work (as those of who who have heard or seen it performed well know) is a staggering emotional experience, as it was to Verdi when he was writing it.

Sound familar, anyone?

[evilprimeval]

Here's an observation some may find interesting-The genesis of Wings bears a strong similarity to that of Verdi's Requiem (1874).

Verdi was primarily an opera composer who didn't have anything to do with Church music, as he was a headstrong religious skeptic. Nevertheless, he was so strongly affected by the death of poet and national hero Alessandro Manzoni, a man who the composer saw as a light among human darkness (he said "With him dies the purest, holiest and highest of our glories") that he wrote a Requiem in his honor, one that (by the nature of the traditional text used) employed Christian imagery and terminology to communicate his message. Writing the Requiem allowed the composer to wrestle with his ideas about religion...ultimately calling for a peaceful resting place in Heaven for someone he loved, regardless of Verdi's own beliefs. The resulting work (as those of who who have heard or seen it performed well know) is a staggering emotional experience, as it was to Verdi when he was writing it.

Sound familar, anyone?
Familiar, yes, but not really familiar with it.
Powerful similarities drawn.
I'll listen to it when I get home tonight in the context of your comments.

[The Dharma Bum]

This is exactly what I got out of Wings, though I am not familiar with the requiem of which you speak.

[helper]

Just because Maynard wrote a Eulogy to his mother on 10k days doesn't make the whole album comparable to Verdi's Requiem. I don't know, I have very strong opinions about Opera so I won't say anything that will get me unliked be a few people on this board.

[AguirreWrathOfTool]

Just because Maynard wrote a Eulogy to his mother on 10k days doesn't make the whole album comparable to Verdi's Requiem. I don't know, I have very strong opinions about Opera so I won't say anything that will get me unliked be a few people on this board.

Who said anything about "the whole album?" The comment was simply comparing the inspiration of ONE PIECE of music to that of another...the Requiem ONLY to the song Wings ONLY. (also, a Requiem and an opera are two completely different things)

[STORMCROW1031]

Wow! I should have joined up with you guys sooner!! THANK GOD you people aren't afraid to compare Tool's music to classical music!!! I have argued extensively with my Opera loving family that rejecting this music because it was written within our lifetime and hasn't been sanctioned by "Academia" is just CRAZY!!!
YES! YES! Requiem YES! 10,000 days is the most stirring and beautiful piece of music I have heard. I've often compared their albums to more like symphonic works than song compilations. Wings for Marie Part I and II is an f'ing MASTERPIECE!!!!!!!

[trey5winds]

Here's an observation some may find interesting-The genesis of Wings bears a strong similarity to that of Verdi's Requiem (1874).

Verdi was primarily an opera composer who didn't have anything to do with Church music, as he was a headstrong religious skeptic. Nevertheless, he was so strongly affected by the death of poet and national hero Alessandro Manzoni, a man who the composer saw as a light among human darkness (he said "With him dies the purest, holiest and highest of our glories") that he wrote a Requiem in his honor, one that (by the nature of the traditional text used) employed Christian imagery and terminology to communicate his message. Writing the Requiem allowed the composer to wrestle with his ideas about religion...ultimately calling for a peaceful resting place in Heaven for someone he loved, regardless of Verdi's own beliefs. The resulting work (as those of who who have heard or seen it performed well know) is a staggering emotional experience, as it was to Verdi when he was writing it.

Sound familar, anyone?


Would you happen to have any specific title information on the requiem? I've been trying to find it on iTunes (the .discussion you begun here is very interesting, and I wanted to hear exactly what you are talking about), and there's too much information classified in a way I'm not certain about. Is this the "Requiem: Cherubini" that you are referring to, or is it known by some other name(s)?

Any help on this would be appreciated; feel free to reply at your convenience.

Thanks for this, by the way.

trey5winds

[AguirreWrathOfTool]

Thanks, man.

If you just type in "Verdi Requiem program notes" in google (doesn't have to be in quotation) you should find out some more information, but I basically laid out the essence of it here on the board. I wasn't really talking about the two pieces sounding similar at all (they don't...but they're both amazing!), but rather that the composers had similar motivations and experiences writing them. I don't know how much classical stuff is on iTunes, but allofmp3.com has the most music (all styles) I've seen, plus it's about 1/4 the price. As for the "Cherubini," that is the name of a different composer, Luigi Cherubini, a contemporary of Verdi (but not as well known). I personally have never heard any of Cherubini's stuff, but I'm sure it's good. My guess is that you searched for the Requiem by Verdi and the closest match they had was the one by Cherubini. If you end up being a fan of Requiems (death masses), the ones that are regarded by the music world as the best are by Mozart (the last thing he wrote before he died, in fact he didn't even finish it...so it was his own death mass), Brahms (with German text), Verdi and Benjamin Britten (called the "War Requiem"...integrated with singing of WWI poetry from Wilfred Owen...unbelievable).

Hope this helps!