Margaret Mikulska replies to Pablo Massa replying to Francisco Barbosa: >>>Verdi one is a piece quite different from all the others. >> >>Curious. I find Verdi's Requiem much more "Catholic" than Faure's. > >And that's really curious, because Verdi was an atheist. ...Yes, but wasn't he Italian? ...Steve Schwartz, cultural determinist yes -- but whether he was Italian, purple or an aetheist, I don't think it ever presented him with a barrier to writing commercially successful music. I believe Verdi was a great businessman -- he wrote with an ear to the market and an eye on what was going on around him. Intensely romantic, lush, rich sounding music at a time when the emotions of the thinking public were being stirred by increased nationalism, a heightened social awareness and an approaching era of plenty, as the approaching twentieth century was seen by many. During his lifetime he was constantly accused of writing music to appeal to the populace rather than "serious" music. Tim Mahon, determined culturalist