Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves

 “Va, Pensiero” is a religious aria, Italian for “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”. This chorus is part of the third act in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Nabucco, which was first performed in 1842. I was exposed to this piece of music while studying opera in my Italian culture class. Our professor made us listen to this song over and over, even though it was in Italian and I didn’t really understand what it meant. I know this song has religious meaning as it is based on a biblical story. I also know that it played a very important role in the eventual unification of Italy in 1861. I know nothing more than this, so I am definitely interested to learn more about its significance.

Psalm 137 of the Bible was the inspiration behind Verdi’s Va Pensiero. This psalm is particularly important to Jews because it expresses their discontent and yearning for their homeland after being exiled from Jerusalem and held captive in Babylonia. This all happened as part of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon’s, plans to siege Jerusalem in 597 BC. A quote from the Psalm reads, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, we wept, when we remembered Zion... They carried us away in captivity requiring of us a song... Now how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" From this passage, it is evident that the storyteller is one of the many Jewish exiles, reflecting on the journey away from their homeland while in the hands of their captors.

Verdi’s opera Nabucco is based on this biblical story and this particular chorus has a very similar tone and message to the original psalm that inspired it. It is implied that the singers of the chorus are the Jewish exiles and similar to Psalm 137, they are longing for their homeland, Jerusalem. In the opera Nabbucco, actors and actresses are typically represented singing this chorus while gathered together, looking sombre, surrounded by Babylonian guards. The meaning of the song can be encapsulated within the lyrics from the second stanza, “Oh, my country, so beautiful and lost!” Here it is clear that the Jews are in mourning over the land they are so proud to call their native land. They believe Jerusalem has met its fate and feel they must keep its legacy alive by reminiscing of past times and memories. I can imagine that this song would provoke much patriotism among contemporary Jews towards their homeland. The only strong religious reference in this song is in the last verse, “…or may the Lord inspire you a harmony of voices which may instill virtue to suffering.” I’m not entirely sure what this means, but my guess is that they believe good may eventually come from their tears and suffering as a result of their faith in God.

This song is used in a religious setting in the sense that it is part of an opera that draws upon a biblical story. It is not, however, used as part of any actual religious ceremony or ritual. The opera Nabucco was primarily intended for an Italian audience, which means the majority would be Roman Catholic, however, the opera itself is in no way limited to any particular religious group. The song is meant to draw more so on political motifs rather than religious and it is used in a kind of metaphorical way to draw on the political issues in Italy at that time. Italy had been constantly under foreign yolk over the centuries by other nationalities such as the Spanish and Austrian. The emotions of sadness and longing that the Jewish experienced during their exile were intended to resonate with the Italian audience and stir similar emotions towards their own country.  Being constantly under the power of others, Italians felt defeated and a lost sense national identity, which is comparable to the Jews of 597 BC. Therefore, the religious significance of this chorus is not meant to be spiritual or evoke deep religious feelings, its primary goal was to induce Italian national pride. It was successful in doing this and Verdi’s opera played a major role leading up to the eventual unification of Italy.

Verdi himself was world famous composer but not a religious figure. In a letter by his wife, she writes of her husband, “For some virtuous people a belief in God is necessary. Others, equally perfect, while observing every precept of the highest moral code, are happier believing in nothing.” Based on this, it is widely believed that Verdi was not a devout Catholic. Upon his death he was also given a secular funeral. Ironically though, many of his other works have also drawn upon Christian motifs. For example, one of his most famous symphonies was his Requie, which was based on the hymns of a Roman Catholic funeral Mass. I think it would be interesting to look into the effect that this had on the audience of Roman Catholics. Being described as a freethinker, was Verdi less entitled to compose music based on Christian motifs? Did Christians have any objections to Verdi or his music for this reason?