Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

With an understanding of the motivation behind period performance, one quickly realizes that this, unlike the Walter recording, is a historically accurate and compelling one. Bruno Walter's recording is excellent, but not representative of classical interpretation. In Gardiner's usual zeal, the performance was produced in such a way as to give the listener a feel as to what it would have been like to listen, in the late 18th century, with Mozart himself at the helm. The playing is flawless, and the complement of singers only heightens the power and drive of this all-too-often butchered work. While Herreweghe's recording is slightly less mechanical, this one deserves minimally five stars, even if only to raise its review average. On a normal day, it would get four and a half, with the Herreweghe one sliver above, at five.

I am reviewing the reissue of Mozart forever collection which contains only the requiem (not the Kyrie) and neither has the text. (Is cheaper, of course)
The liner notes include a brief introduction and a ten "true or false" statements about this famous work, which is wellcome.
All the performers are very good. The conducting is "energetic". The Orchestra very clear, the choir is wonderfull and the soloists dont have the usual operistic vibrato of ancient times. The problem? Gardiner is superficial. The Recordare is too fast, the Benedictus slow and almost ponderous, the long notes of the Rex tremendae without necessary projection (look for Koopman) and the famous, Dies Irae, taken at such a fast speed that the orchestra simply cant make a point with the fantastic period brass section. For a very good recording of Sussmayr version, try William Christie, which contains the ave verum corpus also, has a strong quartet, and almost good choir and, most important, a conductor which uses fast speeds when necessary and is not afraid of holding down tension when music asks for relax (as in the recordare).

Well, it's definitely better than 1 star. It has more character than the Hogwood version and avoids the heaviness of "modern" version. While I won't say that the soloists are the caliber of Seefried and Simoneau, all of them except White have become highly regarded Mozartians. The sound definitely beats Walter hands down and the orchestra and choir are highly articulate. If you like it to be slow and sentimental then I guess 1-star would be appropriate but Gardiner's view is certainly valid. A good modern performance would be Marriner's; less dramatic but equally involved.

AN EXPRESSIVE AND IMPRESSIVE REQUIEM!
Mozart's swan song, the Requiem "fragment" as it is known in scholarly circles, is regarded even today as his most mysterious work. Left incomplete at his death, his student and assistant Franz Xavier Sussmayr (1766-1803) completed the work from Mozart's notes. It is this version that is performed here. The program notes with the recording include some interesting true-false questions regarding the composition of the Requiem and Mozart's health and stability.

It is indeed pleasant to hear this music performed on period instruments, and the smaller chamber-like orchestra more in line with the time period. The soloists are: Barbara Bonney, soprano; Anne Sofie von Otter, contralto; Hans Peter Blochwitz, tenor; Willard White, bass.

The four soloists and the Monteverdi Choir are truly inspiring, and together with the vigorous contribution of the English Baroque Soloists and John Eliot Gardiner's charismatic conducting, both the 'Requiem' and the 'Kyrie' are revealed in all their glorious beauty and spiritual profundity. Although recorded in 1986, the crispness and clarity of the performance comes through the Digital Remastering.

"....With 'some first-rate solo singing' from a top-flight team, 'plenty of cut and thrust',' great athleticism' and 'expressive weight' in the big choruses, and 'well audible' inner detail in the orchestral playing of the period instrument band (GRAMOPHONE), this is a recording that takes you to the heart of the music."

Just a brief mention of my personal favorite recording of the 'Requiem' recorded in 1990 by Peter Neumann; it has four fabulous sounding soloists who just seem to 'fit vocally together' in a most intriguing and amazing fashion, and for me it was marvelous to hear. The soloists are Diana Montague, soprano; Michael Chance, countertenor; Christoph Pregardian, tenor and Franz-Josef Selig, bass; along with the Kolner Kammerchor. This disc is part of a five disc set that includes several Mozart Masses; a great 'buy' for the Mozart lover.

This was the recommended version by my professor when we did this for university. It's a fabulous rendition, one easy to sing along with once you know the music or just to have playing in the background.

This is a lovely and well-executed recording of Mozart's Requiem, and even though the recording was made some 25 years ago, both the quality of the performance and the recording itself hold up extremely well. There are a very few reviewers here that may disagree with that, but -- and though I would not hold myself up to by any kind of real expert in the field -- I can say that, after listening to a number of the more commonly known recordings (including may of those listed in the reviews here), I still find this rendition to be my favorite.

Why is this? Well, for one, Gardiner did an excellent job of positioning himself well within the recording industry back in the late 1980's when he did so many recording cycles (Handel, Bach, Mozart, and on and on), and he was thus able to arrange for not simply outstanding performers, but outstanding technicians who were able to combine to create recording masterpieces that still easily stand against today's state-of-the-art recordings. These earlier recordings are not all SPARS code "DDD," nor all they all performed on modern instruments (Gardiner, of course, being a renown expert on period instrumentation), but many of these late 1980's recordings on both the Archiv and Philips labels are just simply smooth, sonorous, and richly-bodied masterpieces. Forget the harshness found on many recordings as the renewed interested in period instruments hit in the 1970's and 1980's: you would never know these recordings were performed on period instruments unless you were clued in. These recordings, including this one here, are smooth, and sometimes, even lush.

But that's just the technical aspect. Gardiner chose and worked his performers well, and the proof is that so many of these 1980's recordings (including this one, here) remain amongst the most highly received over the years. Yes, there are now more recent and critically acclaimed recordings which make use of the best of today's recording technologies, but it is a testament to Gardiner's much earlier work -- both in terms of musical performance and technological prowess -- that these recordings remain in demand. (Even Gardiner's current series of recordings of Bach's Cantatas, as wonderful and and highly reviewed as they are, are not making these early recordings redundant in any sense.)

The English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir make Mozart's Requiem a powerful and emotive exteprience, with most of what Mozart likely wanted the listener to hear provided in full force. The choir is powerful and solid; the soloists are clear, but smooth; the orchestra truly representative of period instrumentation; and the whole stiched up into a wonderful package. It is true that there is much scholarship that informed this performance to help keep it true to Mozart's original intent, for many of us who are not so keen to study the intricacies of these arguments, the performance is just something to absorb and enjoy. It is powerful, beautiful, and sometimes haunting. It is serious and somber, but yet also punctuated with moments of true delightful beauty. If you have never before investigated the Requiem, or even if you just want another look at this masterpiece work, I would not hesitate to recommend this one to you.

Some Other Recordings
Mozart: Requiem
Mozart: Requiem
Mozart: Requiem
Mozart: Requiem / Tomowa-Sintow, Müller Molinari, Cole, Burchuladze; von Karajan

This is a recording on period instruments, which I am never a fan of. Instruments of this period had a lot of problems with intonation and they can be quite difficult to play. Thus, a lot of the recordings one hears with this variety of instrument can be substandard. And me, I personally like the sound of a full modern orchestra, even for the Mozart Requiem. I purchased the Abbado recording with the Berlin Philharmonic as well, but I'll have to say I prefer the Gardiner. His tempos are brisk, especially in the Dies Irae, which I really like. And it sounds really good. What more can I say?

So for those naysayers, give this a try. I don't think you will be disappointed.