Verdi: Pezzi Sacri

Verdi (Artist), Remigio (Artist), Scr (Artist), Chung (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 9, 2001)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000056EUD
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,712 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Stabat Mater: Sostenuto

2. Laudi Alla Vergine Maria: Moderato

3. Te Deum: Senza Misura - Sostenuto

4. Ave Maria: Moderato

5. Ave Maria: Cantabile - Carmela Remigio

6. Otello: Act IV, Ave Maria: Adagio - Carmela Remigio

7. Messa Per Rossini: Libera Me, Domine: Moderato - Carmela Remigio/Chor Dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia/Filippo Maria Bressan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Some gorgeous playing, but lacking in fire, May 24, 2010

By 

G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Verdi: Pezzi Sacri (Audio CD)

Myung-Whun Chung approaches Verdi's Four Sacred Pieces as large-scale, self-contained dramas of almost epic proportions. One might discuss whether this is the most appropriate approach, but the end results are at least intermittently effective; the success is not the least due to consistently superb choral singing; the choral sound is opulent and gorgeous, even in the quieter passages. The Santa Cecilia orchestra, too, is excellent in that respect, with a really beautiful sound, opulently glittering. What is missing is bite - on Chung's approach the works are conceived of as bigger than what their material can really sustain; as a result they become almost diffuse, and they consistently fail to catch fire.

As for the fillers, they are again beautifully played, but slightly dull-sounding in the absence of even the slightest trace of Verdian fervor. Best is the Ave Maria from Otello, gorgeously sung by Carmela Remigio; it is interesting to note how removed Chung's version is from anything that would work in the opera, but it is actually quite successful as a self-standing work when approached this way. The other Ave Maria (from 1880) is beautifully sung as well, and works fairly well. The Libera me from the early Messa per Rossini (an earlier version of the famous Libera me from his Requiem) lacks the necessary "tremendousness" and flair, and here Remigio's voice is far softer than the soprano line requires. Despite some drawbacks, this is still a useful collection gathering together some of Verdi's less frequently performed music, but the music does really require more power and momentum. The recording is excellent.