Customer Reviews

Verdi: Requiem

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Leontyne Price is a gift from the heavens. I agree with the former Washington Post reviewer, Paul Hume: "She has no equals. Few come close." Both Ms. Price and Reiner triumph in what has to be the most remarkable reading of the Requiem. The emotionality and intelligence of their combined performances is so spellbinding and gratifying, that I am left breathless by the finish line. Bjorling, Elias and Tozzi are also at the top of their form. It is a shame that wherever they recorded it, they could not get a more immediate sound. It seems as if it is all coming to us from just a little too far off.
From the very beginning, we are on a journey that exhausts us in its intensity. How I wish I could have heard Ms. Price live. If by chance she should read this, I cannot express enough in words what I feel about her.
Even if you favor other recordings of this work, this one comes inexpensively, so add it to your library and give it at least three listens. I believe you will be converted.

Fritz Reiner's 1959 recording of the Verdi Requiem can be summarized: slow tempos, great singing, and really bizarre sound engineering.

At 97 minutes, this is one of the slowest Verdi Requiems on disc. By comparison, the Georg Solti-Leontyne Price CD is 81'32". From the CDs I've heard, only Sergiu Celibidache's 102" performance is slower.

Reiner opens with probably the slowest Introitus-Kyrie ever heard: 12'18" (Solti-Price 8'31"). But as in the Celibidache performance, the slow tempo really works. The solo entrances in the Kyrie are just magnificent. The choral work is awesome.

The other significantly slower movement is the Offertorio: 12'17" (Solti-Price 9'55"). This is even slower than Celidibache! But like the Introitus-Kyrie, the effect is unforgettable. The Offertorio begins with one of the smoothest, silkiest renditions of the cello intro I've ever heard in this movement - you will love it! The solo interplay between these four unique artists turns this movement into a mini-operatic scene that will overwhelm you.

I guess I've already segued into the fine singing. I liked Leontyne Price in the 1977 recording with Solti, but I think she sounds a bit cleaner here. Her downward swoops seem more controlled, and she doesn't get so ugly right before the Libera Me fugue. Also, I noticed she is miked a bit louder than the other soloists.

Rosalind Elias is definitely one of my favorite Verdi Requiem mezzos (along with Waltraud Meier and Agnes Baltsa). Her voice is tailor-made for Verdi, and she has a lot of power.

Price and Elias are gorgeous together in the Recordare, and are wonderfully passionate in the Agnus Dei. Jussi Bjorling really belts out the high B flats in the Ingemisco. But generally he tends slightly more toward the lyrical Gedda-Araiza sound rather than the all-out theatrics of Luchetti or Cosutta.

Giorgio Tozzi has a little bit of "Robert Merrill" in his sound; the resonance really makes for an effective Confutatis. And Tozzi practically turns Lux Aeterna into a bass aria with accompaniment.

The Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde chorus is quite good, but they are often hampered by the way they were recorded. But this gets into my third point: the sound engineering.

When I first heard the thunderous Dies Irae, I was so impressed that I was certain this was going to be one of the best engineered Verdi Requiems ever. But the longer I listened, the more it sounded like a manufactured sound.

I believe the "great" sound of the Dies Irae is actually some kind of artificial reverberation effect that may have been applied to the master. In the solo moments, you don't hear anywhere near the amount of reverb you hear in the bass drum and the big choral moments.

The reverb makes for some spectacular brass choir effects. But unfortunately, it spoils some of the choral work. In the Sanctus fugue, the individual lines in the chorus seem unusually muddy and indistinct. The Libera Me fugue fares a bit better, but it is still hurt by uneven balance (the tenors are sometimes totally lost).

Then there is the totally bizarre phenomenon in the "Requiem Aeternam" portion of Libera Me (CD 2, Track 6). At 1'56" into the track, you will hear a drop in pitch among solo and orchestra that is microscopic but still noticeable. This drop in pitch continues on. At 2'47" you will hear what seems to be a serious intonation problem; but I'm guessing it's another pitch fluctuation in the recording. But the most blatant change, unfortunately, is the soprano's climactic high B-flat (3'29"). When she does the low B-flat, you will hear the recording pitch upwards; you can't miss it. The high B flat that follows it is a perfect octave above the elevated note.

The filler is a terrific 1970 recording of Verdi's Quattro Pezzi Sacri featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta. The Los Angeles Master Chorale (with Yvonne Minton in the cameo) is simply magnificent. The Te Deum alone will leave you breathless. The sound - unlike the Requiem - comes across as much more authentic. This wonderful recording will be sitting next to my other favorite Quattro Pezzi by the Monteverdi Choir and John Eliot Gardiner.

I'm still recommending this CD because the performance overall is so good. And there are lots of parts where the engineered sound is quite spectacular. You also get the added bonuses of a beautiful Quattro Pezzi Sacri and a budget price. This is a valuable addition to any collection.

Texts and translations included.

I never tire of hearing Verdi's "Requiem" and this is the performance I prefer above all others. Originally released on RCA, it is now, for some unexplained reason, on the London Jubilee label. The sound has been remastered beautifully. All 4 solists are tops: In 1970, the year of the original release, there was certainly no finer Verdi soprano around than Leontyne Price and she is in excellent voice. Her tenor is my personal favorite, Jussi Bjorling. The mezzo is one of the Metropolitan Opera stalwarts, Rosalind Elias and Giorgio Tozzi is the bass. Fritz Reiner ably conducts the Vienna Philharmonic: The orchestral dynamics in this recording are really wonderful. Altogether a superb recording, made even more attractive by the addition of Verdi's "4 Sacred Pieces" with Zubin Mehta conducting the L.A. Philharmonic and contralto soloist, Yvonne Minton. It is at a bargain price (2 CD's for the price of 1)so even if you already own a "Requiem" you love, this set is inexpensive enough to buy it too. You'll be happy you did.

This recording is one of the bests of all Verdi - Requiem. Recorded in 1959, but sound quality is very good and stereo. Wiener Philharmoniker under the baton of Fritz Reiner, played that tragic requiem with sensitiveness, very impressive. And the Choir, Wiener Musikfreunde is great, amazing performance.

I like especially:

The first movement: Kyrie is a lament, highly pathetic introduction. The 2nd mov: Dies irae (The Day of Judgement) is may be the most terrible of all Dies irae musics. When you listen that movement, you can feel as you are in hell, face to face with Devil! There is a beautiful and very famous mov: Ingemisco, for tenor solo. This is a heavenly and hopeful music. But then, inescapable reality of death comes again with Confutatis, with bass solo and the terrific reprise of Dies irae! And then, the most drammatic mov: Lacrimosa.

There is another Verdi masterpiece: Quattro pezzi sacri (Four Sacred Pieces) for a large orchestra and chorus. Especially the Te Deum is very majestic and worthy listening. The performances of Zubin Mehta and his Los Angeles Philharmonic Orc. and Chorus is very good, their sonorities are very powerful.

It has librettos of all works, too.
Highly recommended.

The solo quartet of Price, Elias, Bjorling, and Tozzi holds
up against all the competition. In particular, Bjorling's
Ingemsico and Hostias are unmatched anywhere. The price is right. Disregard "crippled by conducting". This was the great
tenors' last commercial recording and he is definitely in top form.

I don't know what people are talking about when they say Jussi Bjoerling was past his best in this recording. It seems that because it was his last completed commercial recording people think that he must have been old and past his prime. Nothing could be further from the truth, and this recording proves it.

This was recorded when he was 49-admittedly the voice was darker than in some of his earlier recordings, but this should not be regarded as inferior. Indeed it was beginning to open up new repertoire for him, sadly cut short by his premature death. This ingemisco is truly wonderful. Passionate yet measured, with ringing high notes, yet full evenness of tone. I don't believe any tenor could better this.

As for the others, it would be entirely remiss of me not to mention Leontyne Price as being absolutely wonderful here too. Her voice is so rich and powerful and she does everything perfectly.

The other soloists are good. Tozzi puts in an assured performance and I doubt there are many basses with such a fine, rounded tone. Rosalind Elias would perhaps be regarded as the weak link, but this merely serves to show the immensely high calibre of the tenor and soprano in particular.

I recognise the problems of the conducting pointed out by other reviewers. I would say that if you listen to the singing you can easily put this minor detail aside, and it is minor, as the brilliant singing of the soloists far outshines anything any conductor could ever do.

I have to check myself. Am I in reality here? I have listened to this vast performance of Verdi's Missa da Requiem three times without being totally blown away since acquiring it on a lark because I like the music. I was totally surprised by this hallmark performance. Yes, I expected a good performance but not one of two very best I have heard in my lifetime.

Here are maybe the most celebrated Orchestra and Chorus in the world, four certain Hall of Fame 20th century soloists, and the fabled Fritz Reiner of the CSO (13 or so years) in a 1959 performance of the Requiem Mass many consider the most difficult in the world. Who would have expected the total surprise of this performance? Stereo sound by Decca still great. No problems there on my equipment. A Hungarian-American conductor of the Chicago Symphony with credentials in the production of opera (used to conduct at the MET and elsewhere). Four unsurpassable soloists -- Elias, Price, Bjoerling, Tozzi -- maybe the "dream team" since all are well schooled and experienced in Verdian opera. The great Vienna Singverein der Gesellschaft in chorus. With all these formidable and experienced operatic stars, with the luxurious orchestral palette of the VPO, the dream singing of four of the greatest Verdians of last century, and the well-regarded conductor of the Chicago Symphony who has always loved opera. With all these mighty forces, Reiner produces WHAT! -- one of the two most devotional performances of the Missa da Requiem I have ever heard in my lifetime. At 97 minutes, it pushes to place itself along side Carlo Maria Giulini's last with the Berliner Philharmoniker (97 minutes) around 30 years later as the most devotional and religious performance I know. It is hard to state how lovely and beautiful it is. Certainly Verdi's regard for the human voice as history's greatest musical instrument is on display here. (If you own Reiner's, you'll want to own Giulini's, for they both perform with great soloists and orchestras. Inutterable lovliness!)

Folks, if you like Verdi's Missa, get it. If you like four soloists, massed chorus, and sumptuous orchestra reaching for the stars performing with Herculean effort and consumate talent to actuate Verdi's purpose with this mass -- honoring Manzini (and Rossini) -- and simultaneously pulling back the veil on his inner life as well, then get this performance. When you finish listening to it five times, you may calm down enough to order Giulini's as well. Then make copies, put the originals in the safe for the future, and enjoy the music for years to come. Such a performance as this may never make its way forward again. There may never be that many stars massed at one time singing their hearts out. Many may never know how to do it like this again. Revisionists will eat away at the devotion. And rationalists may never understand the passion. Pity. If you know what I mean, then get it while you can. Amazon has it now.

I first heard the Requiem, only from the Sanctus on, when I was a teenager the week of Kennedy's death. It was the Reiner recording and I loved it immediately. Years later I bought the record and still years later a student bought me the CD's for a birthday. In those years I listened to several other recordings, but I was never as impressed with them as with this one. The timbre of Price's and Elias' voices is so similar that I often was not sure who was singing, both with rich and vibrant voices. Tozzi became one of my favorite basses, first through "South Pacific," and then through opera recordings and Met broadcasts. What can you add about Bjorling? Magnificent. I finally found the Shaw recording and, though Robert Shaw is my very top favorite choral conductor, I still preferred the older Reiner reading.

Verdi was above all else a dramatist. The earlier attempt to create a requiem with individual composers producing different sections, lucky for us, came to naught. Later on when Verdi returned to the score he was in full creative maturity and it shows.
There is not a section that is not moving, heartfelt and superbly crafted. Although he had no use whatsoever for the Catholic church and religion in general, this mass works because it goes beyond the narrow confines of a particular creed. His depth of feeling and musical mastery are everywhere in this composition.
I had a conducting teacher when in Juilliard say: "People always ask: How fast? When the real question is how slow?" Reiner's tempi are on the money and are structurally sound showing balance and continuity between movements. A master conducting the music of a master.
The vocal quartet: Price is the voice and performance for this part. At the height of her powers, this is a a lesson in vocal and interpretive excellence. Elias is fine for the part. Never a great voice ala Horne, she was a superb musician. (Listen to her on the Berlioz Romeo with Munch conducting.) Bjoerling is superb as usual. The Ingemisco shows darkness of timbre and warmth many said he could not deliver. The Hostias is the last piece of music I want to hear before I die. It was never sung like this in Verdi's, or our, time. Tozzi was a light bass of impeccable musicianship and shows that here. Color shading and dynamic subtleties abound.
This i the one.

This is a very fine recording of Verdi's "Manzoni Requiem". All the principle singers, Bjorling, Price, Elias, and Tozzi are in tip top shape here. Bjorling's singing on this recording certainly belies the fact that this was to be his last studio recording. "Ingemisco" is first class, very vibrant and powerful, although certainly not as heartfelt as Gigli's or Gedda's, it does display that forward, excellently focused, ringing vocal production Bjorling was so famous for. Certainly all of his legions of fans will not be disappointed here. Leontyne Price's voice is absolutely gorgeous here. This performance is not quite up to the standards on the EMI Guilini recording with Gedda, Schwartzkopf, Ludwig, and Ghiaurov, but the performance is first class nonetheless. At $15.49, this recording is definitely a must have.