Customer Reviews

Verdi: Requiem Mass - Cherubini: Requiem in C minor / Scotto, Baltsa, Luchetti, Nesterenko; Muti

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

 

 

I own several versions of Verdi's Requiem, but this recording is my favorite. Breaking from convention, Muti chooses to variate style and tempo while not taking away the spirit of the music. In the opening "Aeternam" and "Kyrie", for example, the conductor experiments with a vocal arrangement quite unique; but his choice of a frightening tempo for "Dies Irae" is what best captures the sheer terror of the lyric presented. "Ingemisco" and the weeping "Libera Me" are the best recordings on this disk.

The often overlooked Cherubini Requiem, which appears on the second CD, is a crisp, melodic, haunting presentation. "Twin Peaks" fans may recognize a movement or two.

Unfortunately, this jewel is sure to be passed over in favor of the recordings which sport Domingo and Pavarotti. But the true opera connoisseur should give this marvelous version an honest listen; it will sincerely take your breath away.

This is a full-blooded performance which puts an emphasis on the melodramatic and lyrical aspects of the work, in fine sound quality and with excellent choral and orchestral work. The Dies Irae is really startling, the volume and speed of it being almost more than one can handle at first hearing. This is achieved partly through cheating at the beginning of the work, since to hear the start of the "Requiem" *at all* you have to turn the volume up high - for some reason the conductor decided that he should show off just how quietly the basses could play. The more lyrical passages for chorus and soloists are admirable, Muti keeps the tempos flowing so that the operatic quality of the music does not swamp the devotional mood.

I have reservations about the soloists: the mezzo is the best, with a beautiful tone and clear diction; Renata Scotto has a huge voice but I could not get used to her wobble (it's more than just vibrato) - it sounds like a continual struggle to stay on pitch. The bass is vocally OK but actually under-acts the words, and the tenor, while not vocally challenged either, sometimes seems to be a caricature of Italian singers, scooping, sliding and in the "Ingemisco" going horribly flat coming off a high note.

So go for this recording for the choral and orchestral contributions (or if you're a Cherubini fanatic), but don't expect the finest vocal standard for the soloists.

On its first CD release The Gramophone's reviewer ranked Muti's first Verdi Requiem from the early 80's as among the top ten ever recorded. Put another way, there are nine better, but in the LP era some critics found this performance so compelling that it was ranked No. 1 on many lists. Where did this exaggerated praise come from?

First, the professional Philharmonia chorus sounds superb, singing with wonderful unity and musicality (though not with Verdian fervor). All of the soloists are exemplary except for the aging Scotto--she was the greatest artist among them but not the spinto-dramatic soprano required here, or the alternative lyric soprano one sometimes hears (e.g., Schwarzkopf).

More generlaly, this was a hot shot's Requiem, eschewing spirituality for raw power and impact. Muti's Dies Irae and Sanctus were exhiliratingly fast. Memories of the fiery Toscanini were recalled. Now the Dies Irae seems like a pardoy as it races past. To tell the truth, the one thing that riveted my attention, despsite the wobble in her voice, was Scotto's tragic, almost wild solo singing. Muti's second try in the Nineties delivered a tamer reading, but this one can stand as a tribute to his early promise as Toscanini's all-too-brief successor.

I own several versions of Verdi's Requiem, but this recording is my favorite. Breaking from convention, Muti chooses to variate style and tempo while not taking away the spirit of the music. In the opening "Aeternam" and "Kyrie", for example, the conductor experiments with a vocal arrangement quite unique; but his choice of a frightening tempo for "Dies Irae" is what best captures the sheer terror of the lyric presented. "Ingemisco" and the weeping "Libera Me" are the best recordings on this disk.

The often overlooked Cherubini Requiem, which appears on the second CD, is a crisp, melodic, haunting presentation. "Twin Peaks" fans may recognize a movement or two.

Unfortunately, this jewel is sure to be passed over in favor of the recordings which sport Domingo and Pavarotti. But the true opera connoisseur should give this marvelous version an honest listen; it will sincerely take your breath away.

This recording captures the very essence of the requiem-its very spirit. It is fast and furious at the Dies Irae-so fast, in fact, that I feel other recordings should push-and it is almost orgasmal at the end of the recording (Libera Me). The transition from the violent Libera Me to the calming first tones of Cherubini's Requiem is (probably unintentionally) perfect. A must have!!