Mozart: Requiem

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Sir Neville Marriner (Conductor), Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Orchestra), Sylvia McNair (Performer), Carolyn Watkinson (Performer), Francisco Araiza (Performer), Robert Lloyd (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Sylvia McNair, Carolyn Watkinson, Francisco Araiza, Robert Lloyd
• Orchestra: Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
• Conductor: Sir Neville Marriner
• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (April 5, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B000004137
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,295 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Early Music > Forms & Genres > Requiems
  • #20 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Masses
  • #25 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Early Music > Sacred & Religious

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This recording of the Süssmayr completion of Mozart's beloved Requiem remains one of the most interpretively faithful and musically satisfying versions in the catalog. Sir Neville Marriner, whose contribution to the soundtrack of the film Amadeus helped launch a worldwide Mozart revival, delivers Mozart's inspired music with a masterful command of style and substance. He's not trying to prove anything, but rather lets the music deliver its own profound and moving messages. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Finest Requiems Available, October 30, 2002

By 

R. Gerard (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem (Audio CD)

This is undoubtedly the finest recording of Mozart's Requiem I've heard. Having owned several recordings of the Requiem Mass, each having its own distinct style (Karajan, Hogwood, Pearlman, Spering, Christie, Solti) this release by Sir Neville Marriner is the recording one finds him or herself coming back to often.

It's a wonderfully dramatic recording. This comes from the same conductor who recorded the soundtrack to Amadeus, of course. It is also a dark sounding record, while most the period-instrument recordings available of KV. 626 are rather light, airy, and superficial for a death mass. While this may be a powerful modern-instrument rendition, it is not a romanticized as Karajan's, which is a good thing.

The soloists are first rate. McNair's voice is perfect in intoning the "Te Decet" with her explicit calmness, yet tacit darkness and tension that you cannot get from Monica Groop, Ruth Ziesak, or Emma Kirkby.

The conducting is careful and the tempi are perfect. You never need to worry about Marriner going to slow as other modern-instrument conductors do. I have never heard a "Recordare" more radiantly executed, or a "Kyrie" with such driving force, or even a technically challenging movement such as the "Domine Jesu" handled with such precision.

The choir is also the strongest choir I've heard sing Mozart's Requiem. This chorus can invoke fear, while other choirs sound either too large or too amateurish for such a piece.

Regarding sound quality, I have never had a problem with the sound as it sounds just as good as any other record in my collection. Maybe it is the resonance of the record, but it does definitely give the record the a large "ecclesiastical" atmosphere, quite appropriate for the music. This recording does NOT seem to have any sound or noise deficiencies one or two other reviewers point out.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Recording in the Marriner Style, January 30, 2003

By 

Russ W. Knize (IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem (Audio CD)

I own 4 recordings of Mozart's Requiem, and this one is one of my favorites. Marriner's version is brighter and quicker than the others I have, giving it more energy. It does have a darker feel in places, as it should being a requiem. For a truely dark rendition, I would have to recommend Karajan.

The sound quality of the recording is excellent (DDD). I found myself wishing for more from the tenors in a few places, but that is simply a matter of taste.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolutely Magnificent Rendition, July 7, 2003

By 

A Classical Music Fan (NC, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Requiem (Audio CD)

This is by far the best recording of the Requiem available. Marriner's tempi are perfect: slow enough for expression, but fast enough to hold interest. Unlike most other recordings, it doesn't drag...but it's also not so fast that everything whooshes by. The orchestra and choir are perfectly balanced...neither one is overpowering. Usually the choir sounds like a bunch of separate groups of singers all recorded separately. In this recording each voice in the choir is heard equally, and therefore sounds like a unit. The soloists are first-class, and their voices blend magnificently. McNair...an angel; she has the most beautiful soprano voice I have ever heard. This cd is almost worth buying just for her breathtaking solo in Tuba Mirum. If you have only one recording of the Requiem, this should be it. It's worth every cent.