Verdi: Messa da Requiem (Requiem Mass) / Rossini: Stabat Mater

Abraham Kaplan / Richard Tucker (Artist), Maureen Forrester / Lucine Amara (Artist), George London (Artist), Martina Arroyo (Artist), Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Gioachino Rossini (Composer), Eugene Ormandy (Conductor), Thomas Schippers (Conductor), Philadelphia Orchestra (Orchestra), New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Eugene Ormandy, Thomas Schippers
• Composer: Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini
• Audio CD (May 18, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000028WT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,258 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vital performance, November 27, 1999

By 

Michael K. Halloran - See all my reviews

This review is from: Verdi: Messa da Requiem (Requiem Mass) / Rossini: Stabat Mater (Audio CD)

Every classical music lover has certain albums or discs that they have a particular fondness for, in spite of what the critical consensus may be. This recording of Verdi's Requiem is one of mine. In our current era of flawless ensemble and bloodless excellence above all, Ormandy leads a highly charged, individual performance of this masterpiece.

The soloists (despite the dismissal in the Penguin Guide) are all excellent, with particular honors going to Richard Tucker and Lucine Amara, whose pianissimo B-flat in the "Libera me" is exquisite. She is one of those artists taken for granted during her time, but whose talent and commitment would be most welcome today.

Ormandy has an (undeserved) reputation of being dependable but dull; however, on this recording he is anything but run-of-the-mill. Listen to the frenzy he whips up at the beginning of the "Dies Irae" (terrific sound, by the way -- listen to that bass drum!) or the beauty with which he shapes the "Recordare." This is a conductor who is in the service of the music, not the other way around. This is most refreshing, especially since so many uber-maestros tend to turn this work into a showcase for how idiosyncratic their style can be.

The performance of Rossini's "Stabat Mater" which accompanies this set is more of a disappointment. I prefer the Chung recording on DG or the Hickox on Chandos. But no matter. At super-bargain price, this "Requiem" should not be passed by!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeepers!, May 6, 2005

By 

Wayne A. (Belfast, Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Verdi: Messa da Requiem (Requiem Mass) / Rossini: Stabat Mater (Audio CD)

After listening to this sort of music for decades, NOW I discover Eugene Ormandy. When I was a kid he was marketed as the smooth, slick "Philadelphia Sound" guy. He was everywhere but no heavyweights ever seemed to take him seriously. You'd buy your Aunt Tillie an Ormandy LP for Christmas; you'd buy yourself von Karajan or Szell...you know, serious conductors.

Man, were we wrong. Virtually everything I'm hearing from this guy, recorded from the 1930s to the 1960s is knockout. His Beethoven Fifth is stellar. After years of getting my brains pounded out on that warhorse by everyone from Toscanini to Kleiber (either one!) FINALLY I come across a Fifth that eschews the melodrama yet totally convinces. It's magnificent, flawlessly played, and perfectly judged. If ever the word Olympian could be applied to a performance this would be the one. Even when Ormandy does go over the top, as he can in this incredible Verdi Requiem, it's done in a well-conceived way. In poetry, the words and subtle emphasis should carry the weight of a poem, shouting isn't necessary. Shouting just makes an audience jump and over long periods makes them cranky. I realize now that a lot of conductors, less musical than Ormandy, kind of shouted their way through masterpieces.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few Great Verdi Requiem Recordings!, February 3, 2004

By 

Alan Craig (Grand Junction,CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Verdi: Messa da Requiem (Requiem Mass) / Rossini: Stabat Mater (Audio CD)

First of all I agree with the first reviewer when he says that

Eugene Ormandy is undervalued as a conductor. This is one of the

few really great recordings of this massive work. The soloists

are all legends of the opera and concert stages. The only quartet

of singers that could give them any real competition would

be Sutherland, Horne, Pavarotti, and Tavela, on the recording

with Solti on Decca. I am happy that Sony decided to issue it

both on the Essential Classics label and on SACD. Praise should

also go out to the Westminister Choir for their important and

wonderful contribution to this recording. It would be interesting

to see if Sony would issue it on a single CD, since one it would

fit and they have already issued it on a single SACD, but it is

only a single layer one not a hybrid. In my opinion many modern

conductors could learn a lot from listening to Maestro Ormandy's

recordings especially this one!