Andrew Lloyd Webber - Requiem / Domingo, Brightman, ECO, Maazel

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Artist), English Chamber Orchestra (Artist), Lorin Maazel (Artist), Plácido Domingo (Artist), Sarah Brightman (Artist), Winchester Cathedral Choir (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 14, 1995)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00000428O
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,967 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #4 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > A to B > Brightman, Sarah
  • #26 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Requiems, Elegies & Tombeau

Track Listings

1. Requiem & Kyrie

2. Dies irae... Rex tremendae

3. Recordare

4. Ingemisco... Lacrymosa

5. Offertorium

6. Hosanna

7. Pie Jesu

8. Lux aeterna & Libera me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Requiem in and of itself, November 5, 2005

By 

Brett A. Kniess (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andrew Lloyd Webber - Requiem / Domingo, Brightman, ECO, Maazel (Audio CD)

The trouble with reviewing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem is trying to compare it to other Requiem's we are all familiar with without doing either work any unjustice. Sure, I hear a definite influence of Benjaimin Britten, perhaps even a little Bernstein Mass, but this is no War Requiem, and comparing it to other settings by Verdi, Berlioz, Faure, Durufle, or Mozart would be useless. Instead, realize this is a work unto itself.

Andrew Lloyd Webber sets the Requiem and Kyrie, Dies Irae, Rex Tremendae, Recordare, Ingemisco, Lacrymosa, Offertorium, Sanctus (Hosanna), Pie Jesu, Lux Aeterna, and the Libera Me sequences of the mass of the dead. Scored for full orchestra (including saxophones), a huge array of percussion (including drum kit), harp, piano, celeste, synthesizer, and organ, this is an orchestration of monumental proportions. The chorus on the recording includes boy sopranos and altos and male tenors and basses along with solos for boy soprano, tenor (Placido Domingo), and soprano (Sarah Brightman). The voices, soloists especially, have extreme ranges (high and low) making this a work requiring virtuosity in the entire ensemble.

As for the music, everyone's perception of death is a different and personal experience, thus, ones idea of "Requiem" music will be completely different from others. You can find some snatches of chant-like material, pure melodiousness, great dissonance, revelry, bombasticity, and prayerfulness in this setting. Andrew Lloyd Webber exploits his talent of creating memorable melodies and uses thematic economy to tie the entire work together. The purity of the boy soprano is announced at the beginning with simple octave and fifth leaps, and frames the work by ending on a similar note. The soloists and their extreme ranges portray great angst and tension, but later turns into jubilation. I truly believe this is a serious work; each section gives a personal visualization of the Requiem text and creates a roller-coaster of ideas. The inclusion of more ethnic/modern drums in some places give the music its own Andrew Lloyd Webber personal spin.

The entire Requiem is rarely performed in its entirety, nonetheless recorded. This CD will probably remain the preferred performance to have until the end of time, and for good reason. It captures the excitement of a premier recording by consummate artists and performers. If you are looking for an interesting, and perhaps revolutionary, choral work, look no further.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Webber's Requiem, June 3, 2001

By 

Kelsie Jackson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andrew Lloyd Webber - Requiem / Domingo, Brightman, ECO, Maazel (Audio CD)

This Requiem is one of the best I have ever heard. I would put it on the same level as Verdi's Requiem and Mozart's Requiem. Webber approaches this sacred work with a style all his own, a style which breaks significantly from that of Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, and Faure. The rushing Dies Irae - Tuba Mirum is certainly unique among the other four major Requiems, as is the "Hosanna". I am no expert in music, but I do own recordings of the Mozart and Verdi Requiems in addition to this one, and in my opinion, Webber's Requiem stands out as a unique work from a unique voice.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a really good CD!, March 13, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (maryland, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andrew Lloyd Webber - Requiem / Domingo, Brightman, ECO, Maazel (Audio CD)

Well, the 1 thing that made me put 4 stars instead of 5, was, Placido Domingo seems TOO overpowering... I'm not the person that likes tenors all that much (I'm okay with Andrea Bocelli, though! hehehehe)

Sarah Brightman does a great job in Requiem & Kyrie, and I love her little 45 second duet with Placido. That's wonderful! I'd just buy the CD for that.. Recordae, she does fabulous, as in Hosanna, Offertorium, and Pie Jesu, and it all!

Paul Miles-Kingston does great in Pie Jesu, and especially Rex Tremendae! This whole CD is great though! I'm glad that they didn't have a song just for Placido, though, as they did for Sarah and Paul.

But, buy this CD if you have the chance!