32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply Felt, Thought-Provoking, September 9, 2005
This review is from: Verdi: Messa da Requiem [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)
Harnoncourt is thoroughly convincing in presenting the Requiem as a series of intense prayers/meditations on death. The approach is similar to his Aida - not allowing volume or histrionics to overwhelm either the listener or the singers. This allows him to explore Verdi's orchestral colours and nuances and the soloists and choir to sing beautifully and meaningfully.
What is revealed is the work's religious ambiguity, its similarities with Verdi's operas, its roots in Gregorian chant, and its astounding newness and uniqueness. This is a performance to live with. Highly recommended.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Harnoncourt's Requiem Trail, September 3, 2005
This review is from: Verdi: Messa da Requiem [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)
... continues with Verdi's boombastic and big take on Requiem, an opera disguised as a Mass for the Dead. After Harnoncourt's radical approach to Mozart's Requiem, I expected something fresh in his reading and he does not disappoint.
First of all, the sound is amazing; I can only comment on the quality of the regular CD, but it's outstanding how this recording benefits from the close, clean and very intimate settings. This is Verdi devoid of histrionics, brash sound and Halloween horror, but still very intense.
The beginning sequences are beautifully subdued; the Arnold Schoenberg Choir continues to make the stand as one of the best choruses in the world. When listening to other recordings of Kyrie, I am usually twiddling with volume controls, trying to actually hear anything- that's not the case here. These extreme pianissimos are, for once, soft, not just inaudible. And when the chorus picks up at "Te Decet Hymnus", their sound is still beautiful transparent, just more intense. In later sequences, in Dies Irae, and especially in Sanctus, which is so easily turned into out of control train wreck, the chorus is in perfect control of the line, and the flow of music.
The orchestra playing throughout the whole disc is exceptional, and they are nuances in the instrumental texture that I never even noticed before. The brass section in particular does amazing things- there were moments where I was just shaking my head in disbelief. I had no idea Verdi could sound so lean, clean and great- this is not the usual wall of sound, where every instrument just plays loud and fights for survival.
I am, however, less impressed with the soloists. As much as I don't like the tenors in general and would like to replace the whole lot with pushed up baritones, Michael Schade is in my good graces as an excellent Mozart singer. Here, though, he sounds stretched to his limits and with a few moments of great beauty, the overall impression is that this is not a good fit for him. Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is earnest, but out of depth - I would like a deeper, truer bass. Soprano Eva Mei does not quite make it as a truly dramatic soprano this work requires, especially in the closing Libera Me. Mezzo Bernarda Fink is way too wide in her vibratto for my taste; Liber Scriptus is one of my favourite moments in Verdi's Requiem, and she simply does not deliver, vocally and dramatically. I understand this is Harnoncourt's approach, to have singers with lighter voices, and they do blend beautifully together- Mei and Fink are perfect in the Recordare duet- but given all the great soloists from the past, especially Marilyn Horne and Pavarotti (who once was an artist and not a handkerchief clutching clown), comparisons are inevitable and not favourable.
Another problem is with the tempi; there are no bizarre choices here, like the insanely fast Hostias on Mozart's Requiem, but still, Dies Irae, for example, is unusually slow.
Overall, this is a beautifully different take on Verdi's Requiem, though newcomers may want to try the little more traditional Gardiner, and even Solti's big scale recordings first.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good, somewhat reserved, reading free of personal affectation, March 16, 2006
This review is from: Verdi: Messa da Requiem [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)
Harnoncourt's version of Verdi's religious operetta was recorded in concert in the Musikverein in late 2004. The recording carries the label of hybrid SACD in surround sound. The publicity on the back cover indicates the version uses a new edition that projects the spiritual, not operatic, qualities of the music.
I am not so certain about either of the latter statements above. It seems to me Harnoncourt merely starts slowly and does not project the kind of demonic end of world quality in the Dies Irae that Solti and other more hot-blooded conductors bring to the music. Otherwise, this seems like a straightforward reading that is neither operatic nor spiritual.
For me, the best part of this is the singing by the vocal quartet. This begins in the latter sections of the Dies Irae and continues through the second half. Each soloist is wonderfully captured by the clear recording, with exceptional elocution.
I enjoyed the singing throughout almost as much as I enjoyed Harnoncourt eschewing personal affectation from the recording. Anyone that's heard a half-dozen recordings by this conductor knows he goes in for italicized accents, weird tenuto and other devices that seem to break up the melodic flow for no good reason. Fortunately, Harnoncourt withheld this completely throughout this concert recording.
The SACD recording is clear and captures even the biggest moments with clarity, projection and without congestion or dissonance. I played this on my 5.1 SACD player and system, where the playback was in stereo only. This leads me to believe this is a stereo recording, not true multichannel. It played fine and sounded good in stereo reproduction on my five channel system.
Having said this, it is my opinion this version does not compete very well with the SACD recording of Ormandy's 1964 performance, however. Ormandy's 83-minute performance also has the advantage of being on a single disk, making this one twice as expensive while being less good.
All things considered, this is a good if somewhat reserved performance of the Requiem. Compared to other stereo versions I've owned and heard -- led by Ormandy, Muti, Abbado, Giulini and Gardiner -- this can be a contender for people that aren't interested in the hysterical end of world approach.
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