Customer Reviews

Lotti: Requiem; Credo; Miserere

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I am perhaps somewhat ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Antonio Lotti before my friend told me to pick up this CD. And frankly, the price made me skeptical. I am profoundly grateful to him now however for the recommendation as the music contained on this disc is actually quite marvelous, and more than a little surprising. Lotti's great requiem is a sparkling example of late baroque sacred choral writing. The influence of Bach is evident within the piece (or perhaps the other way around, as they were contemporaries). But Lotti also has his own distinctive voice. In each section of the requiem, he proves himself to be extremely adept at great and versatile emotional evocation. The grand "Dies Irae" and the brooding "Quantus Tremor" set the stage early on. The powerful Baroque trumpets blare a ghastly opening with dissonances against the main orchestra, extraordinarily progressive for the time. (Sort of a Baroque Verdi). The pulsating and dramatic "Quaerens Me" and "Juste Judex" could easily double as Hollywood chase music. The "Qui Mariam" shrinks the orchestra to its bare minimum, with one principle violin, and a haunting soprano, almost reminiscent of Pergolesi. Ever the gadfly, Lotti bounces around many different themes, and so despite the serious tone of the subject, the orchestration can at times be upbeat... even playful. The "Rex Tremendae" could well be a jig, and G.F. Handel probably owes not a little debt to the "Tuba Mirum" and "Ingemisco Tamquam Reus" with their fanfare trumpets.

All in all, the more I reflect on the requiem, the odder it appears to me; moving through many different motifs very quickly. Yet, I must reiterate, it is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

The other gem on this CD is Lotti's Credo in F Major, and most particularly the wonderfully gloomy Crucifixus. It is even more progressive than the requiem. In this work, Lotti sought to break out of the established rules of composition, employing even more dissonances, and most strikingly, the famous tritone chords, which would gain infamy in the 20th century. (Although, just for the record, this is perfectly tonal, and no real comparison between it and 20th century music should be drawn, beyond noting the above tritones and dissonances).

As was common in many motets of the period, Lotti layers the voices upon each other in such a way as to make it difficult to discern where one starts and others end. This is done to sublime effect. All in all, it is excellent music, and very expertly composed.

Finally, we cannot neglect to mention Thomas Hengelbrock and Harmonia Mundi, who executed these works with great care and craftsmanship.

Highly Recommended

Rembrandt Q. Einstein

This is the most glorious choral music one could ever hope to hear, and the superb quality of the choir, orchestra and the recording itself makes this one of my very favorite CDs.

An excellent recording!
I can listen to this music every day.
After all, even JS Bach was an admirer of
Antonio Lotti.