Religion assuages this yoke, yet our heart bleeds under it continually!—
"Sursum corda!"
In my "Requiem" (for men's voices) I endeavored to give expression to the mild, redeeming character of death. It is shown in the "Dies irae," in which the domination of fear could not be avoided; in the three-part strophe
"Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi autem spem dedisti"
lies the fervent, tender accent, which is not easily attained by ordinary singers…The execution is also made more difficult by the 2 semitones, ascending in the 1st Tenor, and descending in the 2nd Tenor and 1st Bass. Progressions of this kind are indeed not new, but singers so seldom possess the requisite crystal- clear intonation without which the unhappy composer comes to grief.
Our 3rd Elegie, "The funeral gondola" ("la gondola funebre"), written unawares last December in Venice, is to be brought out this summer by Kahnt, who has already published my 2 earlier Elegies.
Heartfelt greetings to your respected collaborators, and ever yours gratefully,
F. Liszt
Budapest, February 22nd, 1883
327. To Madame Malwine Tardieu