Posted by Sam on January 23, 19103 at 21:49:39:

In Reply to: Re: music chorus of the hebrew slaves posted by ed jenkins on September 19, 19101 at 13:17:49:

This is a little long, but it is an informative history of the piece:

At the time that Verdi premiered this opera, there was no Italy. The land was part of the Åustrian Empire.

The Austrian Emperor was not very fond of music, and although he reluctantly allowed the premier of Verdi's opera, he strictly forbade any encores. Despite the law, after the chorus sang "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves," the audience rose and demanded an immediate encore, which was given by the chorus.

This song later became the "unofficial" national anthom of Italy, and while the people revolted against the Austrians for independence, they sang this chorus.

Verdi requested that there be no music at his funeral; he did not want musicians to fight for the honor of performing. However, at his funeral, hundreds of people gathered in the rain and spontaneously began singing the famous "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves."

Hope this was helpful (even though a bit late).

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