Customer Reviews

Requiem

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor was composed in 1791.That was Mozart's last brilliant composition, and one of the most superhuman and recondite of his works, not only for its artistic musical communication, but also for the disputation over how far of the music did Mozart manage to finish before his death on December 5th. 1791. His pupil, Franz Xaver Sussmayr is said to have been the `'composer'' who, later, finished the work.

Many can agree with me: Mozart's Requiem remains unfinished.

Listening to Antonín Dvorák Requiem I cannot but recall Mozart's.

Dvorak composed his Requiem (1890) one hundred years after Mozart died and the work is one that came at the beginning of the peak of perfection in his creative period. Dvorak, exuberant and vital as ever, took full command at the construction of the mass, throwing his weight about as though he were seeing Mozart's immortal person in the background. I believe, Mozart and Dvorak were the authors of this work. Mozart's soul is there. He lives in it.

This composition was performed for the first time on the 9th of October 1891, in Birmingham, England, conducted by the composer - Dvorak, his achievement opened for him the trodden path to success and glory
In this recording, Karel Ancerl gives us a stupendous interpretation deserving awe and respect. The music and the voices flow in one great sad expression on generally appalling questions regarding human existence.

The composition of the mass is divided in two basic parts, each of which begins with the original interconnection of several liturgical sequences commemorating the Last Supper. Dvorák inserted between "Sanctus Benedictus" and "Agnus Dei" the emotional movement "Pie Jesu," created on the base of the final text of the "Dies irae" pattern. The basic melodies in Introitus-Kyrie, Recordare, Confutalis- maledictis and Lacrymosa are Mozart's.

Perhaps Dvorak could have been the best pick to finish Mozart's Requiem

One of the very finest conductors of Czech music, Karel Ancerl has perhaps never quite received his due, although since his death in 1973 his stocks have slowly risen, thanks in part to the heritage of his recordings with the Czech Supraphon company and also to a range of recordings issued by Tahra (particularly valuable in documenting his live performances and work in Toronto, with the Toronto Symphony orchestra which he conducted from 1968 until his death).

Ancerl was the chief conductor the Czech Philharmonic from 1950 to 1968 and his distinctive, incisive and at times almost clipped way with music particularly suited Czech composers such as Janacek and Dvorak. Like Talich of the previous generation, Ancerl seemed to bring special insight into his compatriots compositions although it could be said that his style was never quite as natural or unforced as Talich. He also continued to emphasise, quite delightfully, the distinctive characteristics of the Czech PO, particularly its individual woodwind sound, and sharply accentuated string playing.

This Requiem stands as a testament to Ancerl at the very height of his years as Chief of the Czech Philharmonic. The orchestra plays with marvellous bite and conviction (listen to the winds, but also the sharp, tangy strings), and the chorus, also at its peak, signs with total conviction and fervour. It would be hard to imagine a better performance. There is indeed no better version of this piece in the catalogue, including another by Ancerl with Berlin Radio forces. The sound is fine.

Oddly enough, when this was released many critics preferred the Kertesz version on London/Decca with the LSO and associated forces. To my ears, however this version has nothing like the fervour of the Ancerl which is very much "the real thing" - a superb testament to a fine conductor, and a particularly fruitful period of Czech music making. The fill up is also worth having, but it is the Requiem which makes this a true classic.

I concur with the other reviewers on the merits of the music and this particular performance and recording. This work should be better known; it is dramatic, powerful, and has many features common to other settings of the Latin text (such as "fire music" in parts referring to flames consuming the damned). The richness of the wind parts remind one of Dvorak's wonderful works for wind instruments, as well. Though it is not as tuneful as Verdi's, it is not as "dark" as the liner notes for the (competing) Kertesz version describe it (as if a requiem should not be "dark"). It's certainly not as "dark" or "thick" in orchestral colors as that of Brahms.

I have the Kertesz version and also knew it from the days of LP. And yes, it has smoother and altogether better sound, but the sound here is not in any way distracting. This performance and recording date from 1959, and there is a little tape hiss. Although the Kertesz recording dates from ten years later, and boasts sound that is in my opinion better than what one gets in most digital recordings today, I find this performance musically more intense, especially in the choral singing, which is fervent to the point of suggesting, well, drama, such as Verdi was criticized for in his setting of the Requiem.

Having said that, I should note that there are no notes to speak of in this set, no text for the Requiem or the coupling (Fischer-Dieskau, always a welcome bonus, even if singing a laundry list).

And the Kertesz is coupled with another fine work by Dvorak, the intimate Mass in D. I wouldn't want to be without both this and the Kertesz. If you can only get one set, the choice would be which coupling you want, I suppose.

Why isn't Dvorak's Requiem better known? It certainly is on a par (or better than!) Brahms' or Verdi's efforts in this genre, yet recordings and performances of it have been few and far between.

Perhaps it's the austerity of the music. Those who expect Dvorak to be folksy will find little of that here. There is an Old Testament-kind of strength to the music. Lest I scare people away, however, Dvorak seems incapable of writing music that isn't immediately appealing in some way.

And what a range of music we get here. Sample the "Dies Irae" and let it play into the "Tuba Mirum" to marvel at how he shifts from awesome and overpowering (full orchestra) to simple and direct (voice supported by one obbligato instrument).

Perhaps it's the lack of showy solos which has doomed Dvorak to the shadow of Verdi. He certainly doesn't write operatic parts that draw attention to themselves. To me that is part of the appeal to his Requiem, but I understand those who wait for the dramatic or tuneful solo parts in Verdi's opus.

Whatever the case, the neglect of this Requiem is a travesty that anyone who listens to this recording will immediately realize. This performance shines incandescently from beginning to end. Everyone involved seems to be swept away by the music. I have the Kertesz recording, as well, and that version is lyrical and appealing but simply fails to match the power and spirtuality of Ancerl's version.

Getting this Requiem at a bargain price is an incredible deal. Yes, the sound is a bit rough by modern standards and occasionally it sounds as if the performers were on the verge of overlaoding the mikes, but that is no reason not to get this. It is one of the few recordings in my large collection that compelling conveys a sense of occasion. Don't miss it!!

There is a magical aura about this recording, as if muses were involved with the making of it!

I would suggest getting the "other" DG double (with image bit processing) because it has all the liner notes and libretto, as this previous release has nothing.

-Dvorak's Requiem is liken unto the traversal of a mighty mountain which extends from the hells to the heavens.

Among settings of the liturgical text of the Requiem mass, Dvorak's has never been a crowd-puller like Mozart's or Verdi's or Faure's, and sadly I can't say I'm surprised. Shaw called the work `beyond belief uninspired' and I wish I thought he was exaggerating. Dvorak may have been under some pressure from the Birmingham Festival to come up with a big choral composition, but to this day it defeats me why he thought that this slow-moving and lugubrious behemoth of a Requiem was likely to fill the bill so soon after Verdi's blazing masterpiece to the same text. However this is a review of the performance and the production, not of the music, and those are in general very good indeed. The liner-note, by John Warrack in the set as I have it, is sound but plodding, as if to be in the spirit of the thing, but the performance, and particularly the contribution of the soloists, is excellent. The recording is not bad at all for 1959, and it is only the over-forward balance given to the solo voices, together with a touch of hardness now and again in their tone and a slight sense of strain in some of the louder sections (e.g. Quam olim Abrahae), that stops me from awarding the set the full 5 stars.

The music of the Requiem seems to me to improve towards the end, particularly in the first part of the Offertorium and in the second setting of the Pie Jesu, at both which points the sound recalls Verdi. It also seems to come to life where I would not have expected it to, with the musically unpromising text Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, and to retain some of this livelier spirit in the Sanctus. However what makes this set recommendable just on its own is the filler item, 6 of the 10 settings of the Psalms from Dvorak's op 99. These are heartfelt and moving, solemn for the most part but finishing with the ever-lovely Singet ein neues Lied, in which Dvorak's unmistakable voice is heard clearly for the first time. These performances date from 1960, and they give us another reminder of what Fischer-Dieskau amounted to in his wonderful prime, beautifully accompanied by Demus. There is a very slight roughness to the sound in the earlier numbers, but it seems to disappear later, and to me it is insignificant beside singing and musicianship of this order, with that glorious voice heard to full effect.

Just a pity about that Requiem really. The full texts of the Latin there and the German in the songs are given with English translations. The Latin is very accurately printed, the only error being `praestra' for `praesta' in the Dies Irae. There are only two mistakes in the translation, both minor - the last phrase of the Gradual means `he will not fear evil from the hearing'; and in the Offertory `lest' is wrong. These two phrases are not dependent on `Deliver them' but are separate propositions `let hell not swallow them, let them not fall into darkness', after which the `And' will not make good sense, and no wonder considering the Latin says `but'.

I had no version of the Requiem before, mainly because I did not want one, but this is a good one and it can be recommended to anyone, whatever they think of the piece as music. As for the Biblical songs, I make a joyful noise to the Lord.