Customer Reviews

Verdi: Requiem

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

 

 

Solti can do no wrong, really. This recording won a Grammy as a choral work and vaulted the great chorus director Margaret Hillis in the eyes of many professional musicians.

Solti's tempos are right on the mark in this recording, compared to other recordings (Reiner for example). I really enjoy these soloists. Leontyne Price has a dark rich voice compared to many Sopranos; also considered one of the first great African American opera divas. Dame Janet Baker sounds volumptuous and sings the Lacrymosa like no other Mezzo, she adds her own sassy interpretation (which I love). The little known Veriano Luchetti is marvelous on the demanding tenor part, coming in loud and clear, while Jose Van Dam exudes his natural performance.

This is a recording from the 1970's, but the sound and quality are excellent; so much so it won a Grammy. If you want digital check out Shaw, Hickox, or Gergiev. My only qualm on this recording is that the chorus isn't as present as I would like. At times (Dies Irae) I really want more chorus all around.

But, if you are looking for a high quality Verdi Requiem, check this one out. Also, in the 80's, Solti recorded this Requiem in Vienna with Sutherland, Horne, and Pavarotti, but I didn't much care for it. As a matter of fact, I have found very few recordings can hold their standards up to this one. This recording is a lot of fun and highly recommended.

I am not a fan of requiems or masses but there are some in my collection that I love to listen to, one of them being the haunting, vibrant Verdi Requiem. This version is, in my opinion, the most refined and noble one ever recorded. Leontyne Price, though not in her youthful prime as it was recorded in 1977 gives a beautiful performance. Her voice, smoky and velvety, sonds almost angelic here and she does add the pathos that is so essential for the haunting "Libera me"! One of my favourite recordings featuring Leontyne Price. In addition her Tosca, both Verdi-Leonoras and Butterfly are most essential. Baker takes the crown here even though she never was much of a Verdi-mezzo, but neither was Horne and she was fabulous in this work as well. Her contralto voice has so much dignity and nobility, only Kathleen Ferrier surpassed her in this aspect. Luchetti does a fine job with the difficult music written for the tenor even though young Carreras (Who sang it at the time in Salzburg) or Pavarotti are the better choices. Van Dam can be heard on several recordings of this work but never ever have I heard him in such glorious shape. A masterful recording by the wonderful Solti, whom I love in anything Verdi. His conducting of Don Carlo and La Traviata revealed hidden treasures! A+++++++++++++

This 1977 version with Price, Baker, Luchetti, and van Dam is superb. Each member of the quartet shines, the chorus is powerful and beautiful, and the orchestra is flawless. Solti and Hillis take the CSO and CSC to new levels of performance here. Definitely worth owning. Leontyne's voice is simply unparalleled. Truly exquisite.

Sir Georg Solti's June 1977 recording of the Verdi Requiem runs a bit faster than his version from 1967 (81'32" versus 84"). The most noticeable example of this is the Agnus Dei; at 4'20", it is one of the fastest Agnus Dei's around (he even beats out single-disc Ferenc Fricsay: 4'22").

Solti is well-known for exemplary engineered sound, and the reputation continues here. I was especially pleased during the Lacrymosa to hear the chorus finally being given center stage (they have the melody) while the soloists (who are really just doing background notes) are miked down a bit.

One strange recording quirk I noticed. The Introitus-Kyrie seems to have been deliberately miked down; you can hardly hear the opening notes. The big choral crescendo just before the Kyrie as well as all the solo entrances are quite a bit softer than similar moments in other movements. When the Dies Irae comes, you are practically knocked out of your seat.

This recording won the 1978 Grammy for Best Choral Performance. Thankfully, the sound is engineered so you can actually hear the chorus, not just the soloists.

The Chicago Symphony Chorus is a top-notch ensemble, and unlike Daniel Barenboim's recording of the 1990s, this one gives the chorus prominence. While Barenboim preferred lightning-fast tempos for Dies Irae, and the Sanctus and Libera Me fugues, Solti opts for more manageable tempos that allow the Chicagoans to shine without worrying about making it to the finish line.

Leontyne Price is well-known for her performances of the Verdi Requiem. She is probably the biggest selling point of this album. Price has a phenomenally wide vocal palette. The span of her tonal color in the Verdi goes from sublime to totally coarse. She is constantly changing sound between vocal registers, and her voice just before the Libera Me fugue is downright ugly. She occasionally throws in downward swoops between notes; unfortunately, they often sound amateurish, the worst being the one at the end of Hostias. Still, she has lots of power, great high notes, and commands a unique sound that is quite appropriate for the drama.

NOTE - Price's high C in the Libera Me is almost totally drowned out, the first time I've ever heard that.

What is Dame Janet Baker doing here? Seriously. Doesn't she normally do Baroque, and bel canto, and Britten? Her frequent use of bland, vibrato-less sound really seemed out-of-place for this music. She blended well with Price, but I think it's because of the plainness of her sound. Her opening notes in the Lacrymosa sounded like she was drunk. Of all the soloists, I was the most disappointed in Baker.

Veriano Luchetti is certainly at home with the versimo. He proves it with every note that comes from his mouth. His Ingemisco could have been an also-ran piece for Pagliacci. Not surprisingly, Luchetti would later do the tenor honors for Riccardo Muti's ultra-theatrical 1979 recording of the Verdi Requiem.

Jose Van Dam would later record the Verdi Requiem with Karajan in 1984. He is not my favorite Verdi Requiem bass. (I like Van Dam; but for Verdi's Requiem, my preference is for the darker types like Ghiaurov, Raimondi, Furlanetto, and Nesterenko.) But it's still a pleasantly smooth voice with enough depth to make the music work. His Confutatis is really quite good.

The Chicago Symphony has never failed to impress me. However, their bass drum in the Dies Irae was disappointingly average.

Texts and translations included.

This recording of Verdi's "Messa di Requiem" is one of the most
thrillingly-conducted performances available. Maestro Sir Georg Solti's second recorded "Requiem" has a distinct advantage over his first one (a lovely performance with Dame Joan Sutherland & Luciano Pavarotti). This recording showcases the justly-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the outstanding Margaret Hillis-led CSO Chorus. They are not bettered by anyone. The sonorities are astonishing, and this choral work, replete with orchestra and vocal soloists, is chock-full of musical felicities. Solti's quartet of soloists are stellar artists,led by pre-eminent Verdi soprano Leontyne Price, but curiously, they don't operate on quite the same level as Chorus and orchestra.

The great American soprano Leontyne Price has enjoyed a long and fruitful association with the'Requiem', having recorded it twice commercially,(notably with Fritz Reiner & Jussi Bjoreling in the early '60s), twice at the MET on live broadcasts, a legendary La Scala perf. with Herbert Von Karajan & a young Pavarotti (now available on DVD),and many extant recordings from as early as 1957. Here, her voice is now darker, fuller, if less vibrant, producing greater power in the fortes, and supplying creamy, soft tones, spun with incomparable beauty and ease in the upper reaches. That ease is much less evident in her lower voice, where the sound is often breathy or chested,and with more than a hint of rasp. Overall, Ms.Price's contributions are still quite wonderful (her entrance in the "Kyrie"; the long-breathed "sed" in the Offertorium; "Agnus Dei"; & a very dramatic "Libera Me")if eclipsed by her earlier sublime (and lyric) performance with Maestro Fritz Reiner. Renowned English mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker, one of the greatest recitalists ever, brings a searing intensity, vocal warmth, and her manifest communicative skills to this performance. She sings fluently & reminds us that we are truly hearing a Mass. Dame Janet's voice is not particularly powerful,and she's somewhat over-matched in the louder sections of this work. No matter as she's magical in the softer ones, and always deeply affecting. The gifted Swiss Bass-baritone Jose Van Dam sings superlatively throughout and,though lacking only in the 'profundo' aspects of the music, his combination of vocal beauty, potent musicality, and requisite power -prodigiously displayed here- proves irresistible. Mr. Van Dam is simply one of the finest to have recorded this music. Italian tenor Veriano Luchetti is perhaps the "weakest link" here. This voice notably lacks the tonal beauty of his fellow colleagues! To be sure, he produces it well, modulates it with care, and sings sensitively throughout. Too,his voice is of sufficient size for the heaviest demands that Verdi's music requires of the tenor soloist in this work. Unfortunately, Mr. Luchetti's voice is also extremely nasal in quality, metallic-sounding and slightly pinched in the upper register. Lamentably, he is unable to produce a trill("In Gemisco" and "Hostias")or supply any of the honeyed tones one expects to hear in either piece.(He can be heard to slightly-better advantage in his second "Requiem" with Maestro Zubin Mehta & Montserrat Caballe). Nonetheless, this 'quartet' blends warmly in their concerted numbers, while the choral music is magnificently sung whether in the"Dies Irae","Sanctus","Agnus Dei" or "Libera Me". However, the greatest praise must be given to Maestro Sir Georg Solti, whose genius in this score is unsurpassed by any of his rivals. Solti infuses the music with an almost unbearable undercurrent of tension not absent in even the quietest moments of the work. Verdi's thundering "Dies Irae" in Solti's hands(abetted by the excellent CSO) invokes genuine terror, and the solo interludes do little to abate it. The hushed supplication of "Lux aeterna" is shattered by Ms.Price's taut, urgent reading of "Libera Me", the final hellish return of the "Dies Irae", a somber "Requiem aeternum", and crowned by Sir Georg's blazing rendition of the fugue that ends this sublime work. This newly re-mastered recording of the Verdi Manzoni Requiem" -especially at mid-price- is the bargain-hunters' DREAM. Whether you're new to this music, or a seasoned "Requiem" lover like myself -I own at least (20) twenty performances - this one should be in your collection!

I wouldn't even pretend to be any kind of expert in the field of classical music, so I won't attempt to review this CD from that standpoint. I will say this: the Verdi "Requiem" is my favorite classical work. I have loved it ever since I sang it in the Chorus as a college freshman. I've heard several versions of it, and this one seems to be of the highest quality. One detail that I noticed instantly is that it moves along at a rather sprightly pace, while others I've heard seemed to drag a little. On a personal note: segments of the "Requiem" were played at the funeral service for Princess Diana, and I watched this on television on the same say that I saw Madonna's "Evita" for the first time. The similarities in the two tableaus presented was emotionally shattering for me.

Solti made two versions of the Verdi Requiem, this being the second, that operate on the same basis: maximize the thrills, play most of the movements loud and fast, and eradicate any sense that Verdi's intention was religious. Clearly many listeners and critics approve. Along with Muti, another member of this school, Solti's Requiem recordings have garnered much praise but also much criticism. It's a cliche to call this Mass a Verdi opera in disguise, but shouldn't there be some reverence?

If you don't think so, then hearing the music take a pummeling won't bother you. Although the CSO Chrous is beyond reproach, I think it's generally conceded that Solti's first version on Decca with Pavarotti, Sutherland, Horne, and Talvela, all in their prime, is a more exciting ride. Leontyne Price owned the soprano part, as can be heard to thrilling effect in her earlier accounts with Karajan (on DVD) and Reiner. Here her upper range remains superlative, but everything lower down is belted out, with a leathery bottom half octave that's turned coarse and leathery. Luchetti bawls his part with distressing vulgarity, while Baker and van Dam, excellent as they are, push too hard to sound larger than life.

I am giving this recording three stars for its best parts. In actuality, I'd never listen to this account of the Requiem, given its coarseness and lack of spirituality.