Verdi's Messa da Requiem is one of the most frequently performed works of the choral repertoire, and Verdi's most important non-operatic work. This new handbook offers an up-to-date account of the work's genesis, its performance history and issues regarding performing practice.

The central chapters provide a descriptive analysis of the work, while exploring some of the critical issues raised by individual sections, such as Verdi's interpretation of the text (with reference to other settings by Mozart, Cherubini and Berlioz which may have influenced him); as well as the reception of his Requiem by critics. The Latin text and English translation are provided. Subsequent chapters discuss some of the most important changes and revisions Verdi made in fashioning the Requiem.

The author's final discussions investigate two critical issues: the work's unita musicale, and the central issue in the history of its reception, its generic status and the extent to which the Requiem is 'operatic'.