Verdi: Requiem
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Music CD Cover
Performer: Giorgio TozziComposer: Giuseppe Verdi
Conductor: Fritz Reiner
Conductor: Zubin Mehta
Performer: Rosalind Elias
Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Performer: Leontyne Price
Performer: Jussi Bj?rling
Performer: Yvonne Minton
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1995-11-14
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Messa da Requiem: Requiem
- Messa da Requiem: Dies irae
- Messa da Requiem: Tuba mirum
- Messa da Requiem: Liber scriptus
- Messa da Requiem: Quid sum miser
- Messa da Requiem: Rex tremendae majestatis
- Messa da Requiem: Recordare
- Messa da Requiem: Ingemisco
- Messa da Requiem: Confutatis
- Messa da Requiem: Lacrimosa
- Messa da Requiem: Offertorio
- Messa da Requiem: Hostias
- Messa da Requiem: Sanctus
- Messa da Requiem: Agnus Dei
- Messa da Requiem: Lux aeterna
- Messa da Requiem: Libera Me
- Messa da Requiem: Dies irae
- Messa da Requiem: Requiem aeternam
- Messa da Requiem: Libera me
- Quattro pezzi sacri: I Ave Maria
- Quattro pezzi sacri: II Stabat mater
- Quattro pezzi sacri: III Laudi alla Vergine Maria
- Quattro pezzi sacri: IV Te Deum
Free Music Notes for Verdi: Requiem
Free Music Review: Reiner's famous 1959 recording has plenty of glorious vocalising but is marred by engineering tricks
Hit: 5 Stars
Fritz Reiner's 1959 recording of the Verdi Requiem can be summarized: slow tempos, great singing, and really bizarre sound engineering.
At 97 minutes, this is one of the slowest Verdi Requiems on disc. By comparison, the Georg Solti-Leontyne Price CD is 81'32". From the CDs I've heard, only Sergiu Celibidache's 102" performance is slower.
Reiner opens with probably the slowest Introitus-Kyrie ever heard: 12'18" (Solti-Price 8'31"). But as in the Celibidache performance, the slow tempo really works. The solo entrances in the Kyrie are just magnificent. The choral work is awesome.
The other significantly slower movement is the Offertorio: 12'17" (Solti-Price 9'55"). This is even slower than Celidibache! But like the Introitus-Kyrie, the effect is unforgettable. The Offertorio begins with one of the smoothest, silkiest renditions of the cello intro I've ever heard in this movement - you will love it! The solo interplay between these four unique artists turns this movement into a mini-operatic scene that will overwhelm you.
I guess I've already segued into the fine singing. I liked Leontyne Price in the 1977 recording with Solti, but I think she sounds a bit cleaner here. Her downward swoops seem more controlled, and she doesn't get so ugly right before the Libera Me fugue. Also, I noticed she is miked a bit louder than the other soloists.
Rosalind Elias is definitely one of my favorite Verdi Requiem mezzos (along with Waltraud Meier and Agnes Baltsa). Her voice is tailor-made for Verdi, and she has a lot of power.
Price and Elias are gorgeous together in the Recordare, and are wonderfully passionate in the Agnus Dei. Jussi Bjorling really belts out the high B flats in the Ingemisco. But generally he tends slightly more toward the lyrical Gedda-Araiza sound rather than the all-out theatrics of Luchetti or Cosutta.
Giorgio Tozzi has a little bit of "Robert Merrill" in his sound; the resonance really makes for an effective Confutatis. And Tozzi practically turns Lux Aeterna into a bass aria with accompaniment.
The Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde chorus is quite good, but they are often hampered by the way they were recorded. But this gets into my third point: the sound engineering.
When I first heard the thunderous Dies Irae, I was so impressed that I was certain this was going to be one of the best engineered Verdi Requiems ever. But the longer I listened, the more it sounded like a manufactured sound.
I believe the "great" sound of the Dies Irae is actually some kind of artificial reverberation effect that may have been applied to the master. In the solo moments, you don't hear anywhere near the amount of reverb you hear in the bass drum and the big choral moments.
The reverb makes for some spectacular brass choir effects. But unfortunately, it spoils some of the choral work. In the Sanctus fugue, the individual lines in the chorus seem unusually muddy and indistinct. The Libera Me fugue fares a bit better, but it is still hurt by uneven balance (the tenors are sometimes totally lost).
Then there is the totally bizarre phenomenon in the "Requiem Aeternam" portion of Libera Me (CD 2, Track 6). At 1'56" into the track, you will hear a drop in pitch among solo and orchestra that is microscopic but still noticeable. This drop in pitch continues on. At 2'47" you will hear what seems to be a serious intonation problem; but I'm guessing it's another pitch fluctuation in the recording. But the most blatant change, unfortunately, is the soprano's climactic high B-flat (3'29"). When she does the low B-flat, you will hear the recording pitch upwards; you can't miss it. The high B flat that follows it is a perfect octave above the elevated note.
The filler is a terrific 1970 recording of Verdi's Quattro Pezzi Sacri featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta. The Los Angeles Master Chorale (with Yvonne Minton in the cameo) is simply magnificent. The Te Deum alone will leave you breathless. The sound - unlike the Requiem - comes across as much more authentic. This wonderful recording will be sitting next to my other favorite Quattro Pezzi by the Monteverdi Choir and John Eliot Gardiner.
I'm still recommending this CD because the performance overall is so good. And there are lots of parts where the engineered sound is quite spectacular. You also get the added bonuses of a beautiful Quattro Pezzi Sacri and a budget price. This is a valuable addition to any collection.
Texts and translations included.
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