13 Reviews
|
5 star:
|
|
(12) |
|
4 star:
|
|
(0) |
|
3 star:
|
|
(1) |
|
2 star:
|
|
(0) |
|
1 star:
|
|
(0) |
| | | |
|
|
Average Customer Review
Share your thoughts with other customers
|
|
|
|
The most helpful favorable review
| |
The most helpful critical review
|
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
Period Performance Perks
As a collector and admirer of requiems large and small, I often find treatments of Mozart's Requiem that leave me with a dry impression. So, I have been surprised to find that this new completion, recorded by the Boston Baroque has become one of my favorite AND most frequently played requiems. As deceptively simple and straight-forward as Mozart's Requiem is, many...
Published on May 30, 2002 by D. Seymour
|
› See more 5 star, 4 star reviews |
 |
3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Beautifully performed garbage
Mozart's requiem, though incomplete, is an unmatched masterpiece in it's genre. Leave it to Levin, then, to butcher some of the most important parts. He says that one cannot simply discard some of the non-mozart parts yet replaces much of it with his own decidedly pedestrian contributions which are best described as quasi-baroque with a romantic flair. I'll take...
Published 22 months ago by S. Tirado
|
› See more 3 star, 2 star, 1 star reviews |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
Period Performance Perks, May 30, 2002
As a collector and admirer of requiems large and small, I often find treatments of Mozart's Requiem that leave me with a dry impression. So, I have been surprised to find that this new completion, recorded by the Boston Baroque has become one of my favorite AND most frequently played requiems. As deceptively simple and straight-forward as Mozart's Requiem is, many conductors fail to break through the surface to expose the glorious depths. Here, Pearlman strikes gold. Mozart's 'Dies Irae', breaks away like a chilling, demonic horse race. The 'Confutatis' churns and the 'Lacrimosa' is as it should be: sorrowful. Mozart's striking harmonic turns are given the spotlight in the 'Domine Jesu'. The heavenly 'Lux Aeterna' is downright gorgeous! Cap the whole thing off with the volatile fugue 'Cum sanctis tuis' and you have a small glimpse into genius. Even though Mozart's Requiem might seem to be musically light in comparison to the imposing behemoths of Verdi and Berlioz, this performance closes the gap in terms of emotional impact. The period instruments are a revelation. The sound is crisp, the tempi are brisk and the choir is perfection. A great recording!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Sound is stellar, October 6, 1999
By A Customer
This version has come under some criticism from the purists for the alternate completion of certain sections, but I own several versions of the Requiem and this is the one I return to. Ruth Ziesak is crystal clear and the ensemble is outstanding. A thrilling album. Play it loud.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
REQUIEM COMES ALIVE!, January 26, 2002
I find Levin's observation that one can't just discard Sussmayer's contribution - for the reason the Mozart probably conveyed to him some of his ideas for sections of the Requiem - very pertinent. The music really comes alive in this fresh and beautiful rendition. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the completion of Mozart's fragment of the fugal Amen to the Lacrimosa section.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
It is a miracle., August 19, 1999
By A Customer
This new completion of Requiem by Robert Levin / Pearlman has really honored The miraculous composer Mozart. I listen to it several times a day. You can remark the difference from Mozart style in some songs, but the echo and the influence of virtuosity from the first songs make you forget the difference because of this wonderful completion. I really have got a miracle for my soul and life. Thank you.Salah El Sayed
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Don't Hear How It Can Get Any Better Than This, April 4, 2008
Many, many aeons ago I participated in the chorus of a University production of Mozart's REQUIEM. One of my friends (who was in the audience) said to me after the performance, "I've never seen you look so happy."
I was...and who wouldn't be?
Participating in a classical chorus always creates an immediate sense of community--even if limited to the run of the show. Participating in a Mozart work--and particularly his REQUIEM--rates as a very special experience.
Not surprisingly I purchased several REQUIUEM recordings over the years since that joyful experience, no doubt in an understandable attempt to keep the happy memory alive.
All of the recordings have been good, but this New Completion by Robert Levine has got to be as good as it can possibly get--short of going back in time to hear an original performance--and by that I mean, a performance conducted by the great composer himself.
This is also an excellent Mozart "primer" work for the "uninitiated". It is a rousing, dynamic, exuberant, divinely inspired human creation--and showcases the musical genius at his most accessible best--all on a single CD at a realy great price.
Mozart: Die Zauberflote
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent!, March 4, 2007
I bought this version of the Requiem after doing some research on the various completions. Prior to that I'd been studying several of the late Haydn Masses and had a fairly good sense of the conventions of late 18th century liturgical music. My first listen to Sussmeyer's completion after looking at the Haydn left me really dissatisfied with what Sussmeyer had done with the work. It sounded pretty lame especially the truncated fugues at the end of the Sactus and Benedictus.
When I got this CD I went straight for the Lacrymosa. It's my favorite movement of the whole work. The completion by Levin includes a fugual Amen based on a fragment that as best as musicologists can tell was intended as the basis for the end of the Lacrymosa. This differs considerably from Sussmeyers massive two chord Amen. Mozart had totally assimilated the contrapuntal language of Bach and Handel, but his student was probably simply not up to the task of completing the fugue. That's my guess. Anyway, as I listened to Levin's completion of the Lacrymosa, it sounded a little weird at first. The things I was used to being in certain places were altered a little. The convention in liturgical music of the period was to end on a half cadence before going into a fugal ending. Sussmeyer does a full authentic candence before doing his big Amen. Levin follows the convention of the period leaving things hanging in expectation of the fugue. Sure, that sounds technical, but Levin's version just sounds better. As I listened to it I felt like I was hearing something much closer to what Mozart would have done. It was spine-tingly, like Levin was almost channeling Mozart. The Amen fugue is extremely well done and almost totally convincing. There are a few passages that are a little iffy (Mozart would have done it better), but the overall effect is a more convincing end to the Sequence, actually very uplifting. I totally love it. Levin's reworking of Sussmeyer's compositional contributions are a definite improvement without potentially throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The reworkings of the fugues at the ends of the Sanctus and Benedictus are drastic improvements. They're simply vastly superior to Sussmeyer's work. They flow naturally and cadence idiomatically for the better (I would have ended on a full major chord rather than an open fifth - that follows Mozart's own practice). In these passages Levin ends up being a better 18th century composer that Sussmeyer was.
Oh yeah, the performance... It's very good. I'd like to hear John Elliot Gardiner do this version, but short of that I'd recommend it highly. Very clear and precise, excellent tempi, good balance between the choir and the orchestra.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The Definitive Requiem, February 27, 2007
When I first purchased this 1994 recording of Robert Levin's reconstructed version Mozart's Requiem, I was honestly a bit skeptical. I thought to myself, should anyone, even an reknowned expert like Levin, really be messing around with this masterpiece? Who could even approach Mozart's genius? But once I did a little research, and read the very informative notes included with this disc, I realized how much of the standard Sussmayr version is certainly not what Mozart would have intended, and varies from the most common practices in sacred works of the 18th century. Of course, we will never now how exactly Mozart would have completed this masterpiece, but I think pianist/composer Robert Levin has come as close as anyone ever will. In fact, Levin puts the Requiem into its historical/musical context brilliantly and I think Mozart himself would be proud. This cd is truly the most magnificent and moving version I have ever heard. I also own an acclaimed disc of the Requiem with Arleen Auger, but this disc easily surpasses it. The accoustics are incredible, and Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque have given us a most remarkable recording that will be the definitive version for years to come.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The new gold standard, January 30, 2006
First, if you've listened to or owned a "traditional" recording of the Requiem (I have Karajan's 1962) hold on to your hat, because the tempos will knock your socks off.
I already have BB's Bach Orchestral Suites (which gets all 4 on one CD) and I was STILL surprised.
Second, the Levin reconstruction is a more than worthy replacement of the traditional Sussmayr, including the completion of the Amen fugue and cleaning up some harmonic lines.
And, finally, the sound! This is clean, crisp and bright.
Accept no substitutes; if you like the Requiem, run out and buy this now.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A winning completion, October 23, 2007
Most of us who know the Mozart Requiem know it from the famous Sussmayr completion even with its faults. Through the years many scholars have sought to offer alternative completions, but many people consider them unsatisfactory. Now comes a completion by scholar Robert Levin, written such that it only corrects the faults of the Sussmayr completion and does not replace it completely. I must admit I had my doubts, but after listening to it, the results are superb and I hope that one day more people will consider performing the work in this version. I'm not a qualified musicologist, but I know this completion has merits such that the Amen and Hosanna fugues fit better into the score, and are better than the rough edges of Sussmayr's original at these points.
This superbly-engineered Telarc recording features a performance from Martin Pearlman's Boston Baroque. Although I'm not terribly familiar with this ensemble, this group turns in a fantastic and heartfelt performance, aided by a top-notch quartet of soloists. The soloists blend well together and as a group, and Ruth Ziesak is telling in her opening entry and in the Recordare. The only qualm I have about the soloists is that David Arnold is perhaps not imposing enough in the Tuba mirum, but he eases himself into the work and eventually sounds superb. Pearlman's tempi are brisk and never sound rushed, and his chorus sings with feeling, fervour and conviction. Other reviewers have mentioned the chilling, demonic effect that he achieves in the Dies irae, but I could also mention that it sounds imploring too in the Rex tremendae and the Domine Jesu.
All told, for the criticisms levelled at this recording and this edition, I think I like this version of the Mozart Requiem much more than the standard Sussmayr version. I know that the original Mozart Requiem has had venerable recordings in the past, from the likes of Karajan, Bohm, Robert Shaw, Gardiner and Thielemann, to name but five, but this superb version is probably my new favourite. The unusual thing about this completion is that it too gets to the heart of the work without the editor putting his stamp on the work. Now if only Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque will get round to recording the Levin completion of the Mozart Great Mass in C Minor, and hopefully record the Kyrie K341 as a fill-up to this disc.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding!, May 30, 2006
I sampled about ten other recordings of Mozart's Requiem before deciding on this one. Among them were the Bernstein, Solti, Von Karajan, Marriner, and Harnoncourt versions. This recording stood out for its historical accuracy, expression, interpretation, and quality of sound.
First, one should note that this is the Levin edition of the Requiem. While many will prefer the Sussmayer for its historicity and personal connection to Mozart, Levin's edition stands out in that some of Mozarts unused skecthes are included (notably in the Amen) and a good number of the harmonies are fixed. While Levin is a modern musicologist, he has a deep understanding of Mozart's intent and it shows through.
The Boston Baroque orchestra has a perfect feel for the Baroque/Classical tempi and rhythms. The sound of each instrument is clear and distinct without losing the dramatic extremes of the music or sacrificing orchestral depth in the process. The orchestra plays with the gusto and arrogance of the Classical era and larger orchestras simply cannot compete with the mechanical accuracy of the smaller, period ensemble.
The soloists are excellent, though I have never heard of any of them. They sing well alone or together with rich tones and perfect trills. Each of them demonstrates a strong understanding of Classical singing technique with warm timbres and good diction.
The choir stands out above them all, however. While the other recordings I listened to have oversized choirs, the Boston Baroque is audibly small, but highly capable. Their sound is commanding, but never blurry and every consonant is clear. While the larger choirs on other recordings sound truly epic in scope, they lack the emotional impact and clarity in the cadneza passages. I have never heard a more well balanced, perfectly tuned, and emotionally satisfying choir.
Pearlman's conducting is first rate; he knows the Baroque and Classical periods intimately and it shows through in the brisk tempi (such as the Dies Irae) and measured slow sections, notably the Lux Aeterna.
Telarc truly nailed the recording quality on the head in their balance of bass, treble, and clarity. There is a great deal of dynamic range in the music from soft to loud and the sound only seems to get better as you crank up the volume. There are no cracks, pops, or hisses to be found and the sound is remarkably live with little backspace or static. This is a first rate recording and a fantastic interpretation of Mozart's used and often-abused music.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Items mentioned in these reviews
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
|
|
| |
|
|
|
