Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 [Hybrid SACD with CD-ROM track of Mozart's Original Manuscript]

Bernarda Fink (Artist), Kurt Streit (Artist), Gerald Finley (Artist), Christine Schafer (Artist), W. A. Mozart (Composer), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Conductor), Concentus Musicus Wien (Performer), Arnold Schoenberg Choir (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Concentus Musicus Wien, Arnold Schoenberg Choir
• Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Composer: W. A. Mozart
• Audio CD (August 10, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Harmonia Mundi
• ASIN: B00022UO9I
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,112 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #53 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Early Music > Forms & Genres > Requiems
  • #63 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Early Music > Sacred & Religious
  • #68 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Requiems, Elegies & Tombeau > Requiems

Track Listings

1. Requiem

2. Kyrie

3. Dies Irae

4. Tuba Mirum

5. Rex Tremendae

6. Recordare

7. Confutatis

8. Lacrimosa

9. Domine Jesu

10. Hostias

11. Sanctus

12. Benedictus

13. Agnus Dei

14. Lux Aeterna

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Beethoven called Mozart's Requiem "wild and terrible," and that's what we get in Harnoncourt's new recording. Ominous dread hangs from every note of the dark opening measures, the Rex tremendae and Confutatis are driven with terrifying strength, and the supplications of the Lacrimosa, with their weeping stabbings of the orchestra, are freighted with emotional power. The Tuba mirum duet of bass soloist and trombone has a beauty almost never achieved in other readings. Nor does Harnoncourt overstep the stylistic boundaries of this classical-era work; rather, the intensity is heightened for being in the idiom of its time. Call it a Romantic reading of a Classical piece that looks forward to a more unbuttoned era. The soloists couldn't be better; the orchestra is first-rate, the chorus, sensational, singing with a sense of color, line, and emotion,. Harnoncourt uses the Beyer edition of Süssmayr's completion of the work, and Mozart's unfinished original manuscript can be accessed via a CD-ROM track, which scrolls as the music plays. This release gets my vote as the best Mozart Requiem on disc, all the more impressive for being a live concert performance in excellent sound. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh and profound reading of this masterpiece, October 14, 2004

By 

A techno geek (Hawai`i, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 [Hybrid SACD with CD-ROM track of Mozart's Original Manuscript] (Audio CD)

First, this SACD is has the best sound of any recording I have ever heard, ever. The multitrack SACD sound somehow turns my living room furniture into a symphony orchestra and chorus. Unfortunately, many SACDs are derived from 24 bit PCM digital recordings, and dilute the SACD brand with inferior sound. This recording, on the other hand, is a triumphant vindication of the new SACD format.

The performance itself is unusual. There are many moments that give me goosebumps, which is my ultimate compliment. It does not produce the "wall of sound" effect on the tutti sections that many other performances of the Mozart Requiem do. This is something I do miss from this performance. Instead, it has a more open texture, with stunning crescendos that rapidly clear, revealing fine details of orchestration. Instead of tense, wound-up tuttis, the fortissimo sections are more like storms that suddenly drench the listener with overwhelming force. The open texture of the performance gives it a more liturgical than symphony sensibility, and as a consequence creates an ethereal ambience of great pathos. One comes away from the performance feeling very mournful and exposed to the deeper realities of human existence.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A peasant's review., June 13, 2005

By 

John Truslow (Vestal, New York, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 [Hybrid SACD with CD-ROM track of Mozart's Original Manuscript] (Audio CD)

This reviewer has little basis for the scholarly comparison provided by other authors, but I write for the buyer who - like me - may not know anything about classical music, but can still appreciate aesthetic beauty and high quality recordings. When I purchased this disc, I was simply looking for my first copy of Mozart's Requiem, and preferably, one equipped for playback in my SACD player. I have been very, very pleased. I find the performances here to be powerful and exciting, and the recording itself to be nothing short of an amazing sonic experience (with the right equipment, of course). I find the CD (which includes a copy of Mozart's score) and the materials that come with it to be particularly interesting, and I strongly encourage those of less than high-brow appetites - like me - to pick up a copy for serious listening.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, August 20, 2004

By 

Bob S. "Classical Music Fanatic" (Northeast Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 [Hybrid SACD with CD-ROM track of Mozart's Original Manuscript] (Audio CD)

It's hard to avoid superlatives when describing this recording. The orchestra, the choir, and the soloists are fantastic, but Harnoncourt is the star (along with Mozart, of course). His conducting is precise, deliberate, and relentless- and the dark emotion of this piece is revealed as I've never heard it before. This is without a doubt the best performance of this work I've heard, and I've been around quite awhile!

The other stars of the recording are Harmonia Mundi's recording engineers- the miking and recording is superb- this is the best SACD I've heard so far. This is one beautiful recording job.

I have only a few SACDs, but I have close to 1000 CDs, and this is certainly one of the top handful, perhaps even the best.

Run, do not walk, to your nearest keyboard to order this recording- I promise you will NOT regret it.

Happy listening!