Mozart: Requiem / Bonney, von Otter, Blochwitz, W. White, Gardiner

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Artist), John Eliot Gardiner (Artist), Barbara Bonney (Artist), Anne Sofie von Otter (Artist), English Baroque Soloists (Artist), Hans Peter Blochwitz (Artist), Willard White (Artist), Monteverdi Choir (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000040YU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,424 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Bonney, Barbara
  • #13 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Otter, Anne Sophie von
  • #33 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > M to P

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mozart without stodgy German Romantic Traditions, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem / Bonney, von Otter, Blochwitz, W. White, Gardiner (Audio CD)

If you're a fan of big-boned Mozart with huge orchestras, huge choirs, overly-operatic singers, slow tempi and ironed-out articulation, stay away from this disc. Get stodgy Herby von K., or less stodgy but still muddy Aba-ba-badyo. But if you care about Mozart's music, this is a wonderful recording. Apparently some people still have Romanticism-Hangover -- that dreaded illness which makes one distort the music in the name of "tradition", egocentric expression, and the "I know better than the composer" slant. Although it's impossible to read Mozart's head and heart more than two centuries after his death, I still must say that (IMHO) this recording is certainly closer than most to the overall sound he must've had in mind. Mozart certainly didn't write all that wonderful counterpoint (the double-fugue Kyrie, for example) only for all of it to be smoothed over as a bunch of massed sonorities. Mozart did not write a D for the solo soprano only for it to be distorted by the fashionable wobble of today's singers. Need I go on? Trust me -- this is a fabulous recording of the Requiem. The soloists (especially Bonney) are superb. Gardiner is one of that rare breed of conductors who often achieve maximum intensity AND maximum clarity. Marriner's recording (also on Philips) is perhaps slightly more intense, but it's not as clear, and the recording quality is not as good as Gardiner's disc. This disc is a treasure. The D minor Kyrie is such a gem of a work, and performed with just as much polish and intensity as the Requiem.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No wobbly vibratos (thank goodness), July 21, 2002

By 

R. Martin (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Mozart: Requiem / Bonney, von Otter, Blochwitz, W. White, Gardiner (Audio CD)

An avid Mozart listener, I find the modern renditions of his breathtaking music most often too heavy handed, with too much sound too much of the time. In this more traditional recording, we rediscover the lightness and clarity of sound that Mozart is known for. Thank goodness--no more Verdi-esque performances by artists who believe they are singing the dramatic Romantic solos instead of the more precise Classical solo. The clarity of tone and the beautiful singing are what draws me, the classical singer, again and again to this gorgeous piece, finally rendered by singers with precise pitch. The CD remains fitting homage to a brilliant composer and without a doubt one of the jewels in my collection.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gardiner gives a close look back in the past, January 6, 2003

By 

"bigmikedc" (Sugar Hill, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem / Bonney, von Otter, Blochwitz, W. White, Gardiner (Audio CD)

My compliments to Gardiner and his talented Monteverdi Choir along with the English Baroque Soloists. I have previously bought his equally accurate Beethoven: Missa Solemnis and have ever since had the upmost respect for this indeed rare conductor. To say that this is one of the more accurate versions of Mozart's Requiem is an understatement. So many other conductors seem to have this piece entirely interpreted wrong. To be honest, I dont think it's really an accidental interpretation of Mozart's last work. I believe these conductors often ignore the way they feel a composer's work should be interpreted and replace it with their own vision. That may be ok for study purposes in some schools or universities but it is entirely wrong for public performances and recordings. Gardiner does this piece justice by returning us all to the 18th century and his singers and orchestra are immediately stating that fact with the very first movement, Requiem. It takes out the overly operatic feeling of most versions of this piece and goes straight for accurate tones, style and pace. The soloists are also close to the original interpretation of this Requiem though I wish I knew why Willard White felt he had to get "creative" with certain notes here and there. Overall, an excellent piece which I feel you'll enjoy time and time again.