Verdi: Requiem [Hybrid SACD]

Disc 1
1	Requiem Mass, for soloist
2	Requiem Mass, for soloist
3	Requiem Mass, for soloist
4	Requiem Mass, for soloist
5	Requiem Mass, for soloist
6	Requiem Mass, for soloist
7	Requiem Mass, for soloist
8	Requiem Mass, for soloist
9	Requiem Mass, for soloist
10	Requiem Mass, for soloist
Disc 2
1	Requiem Mass, for soloist
2	Requiem Mass, for soloist
3	Requiem Mass, for soloist
4	Requiem Mass, for soloist
5	Requiem Mass, for soloist
6	Requiem Mass, for soloist
7	Requiem Mass, for soloist
8	Requiem Mass, for soloist
Verdi: Requiem [Hybrid SACD]
1.	Requiem Mass, for soloists, chorus & orchestra (Manzoni Requiem) 1:27:31
	Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
	Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Bernarda Fink, Eva Mei, Michael Schade and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo
	Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Barnes & Noble

Just a year after his revelatory recording of the Mozart Requiem, Nikolaus Harnoncourt returns with an equally spellbinding performance of another great musical setting of the Latin Mass for the Dead, Giuseppe Verdi's Messa di Requiem. (Lest anyone accuse Maestro Harnoncourt of becoming morbid, he has also released a zestfully life-affirming recording of Haydn's "Paris" Symphonies in the meantime.) Verdi's Requiem has had many excellent recordings, but now another one must be added to the list. Heartbreakingly beautiful vocal performances (mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink, who also sang on the Mozart disc, is the standout among the excellent quartet of soloists here); orchestral playing from the Vienna Philharmonic that runs the gamut from feverish brilliance in the "Dies irae" to tenderly consoling strains in the "Lux aeterna"; a chorus of angels, courtesy of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir; a forcefully dramatic interpretation from the podium, captured in the midst of exciting live performances -- all this plus a recent scholarly edition of the Requiem that attempts to hew more closely to Verdi's intentions than many performers have done. Commentators still argue whether this work is too "operatic" (a vague term that might mean any number of things), but Harnoncourt demonstrates that this Requiem is precisely operatic enough -- that it draws on the expressive vocal, choral, and orchestral language of opera in order to mourn the dead in a uniquely potent and moving way. Scott Paulin

All Music Guide

In the interest of delivering a historically informed performance of Giuseppe Verdi's "Requiem," and in fairness to the composer's often misunderstood wishes, Nikolaus Harnoncourt has taken pains to study the history of the work and follow the autograph score to make this live 2004 recording as authentic as possible. Through the use of appropriate instrumentation, the elimination of unnecessary portamento, a thorough rethinking of Verdi's use of dynamics, a reduction of the chorus to four voices per part where explicitly indicated, and observation of the original break between the Dies Irae and the Offertorium, Harnoncourt presents a version of the "Requiem" trimmed of "operatic" accretions and late-Romantic excesses, and restores the work to its intended state as sacred church music. Harnoncourt, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir are meticulous, reverent, and restrained for the most part, yet impressive where required, particularly in the thundering passages of the Dies Irae; and soprano Eva Mei, mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink, tenor Michael Schade, and bass Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, while still powerful in effect, sing with accuracy and take few expressive liberties. This hybrid SACD offers exceptionally clear and vibrant sound quality, and the dimensions of the multichannel recording are quite realistic. Blair Sanderson

Time Out New York

This Requiem strikes a fine balance between drama and piety.... Warmly recommended. Marion Lignana Rosenberg

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[Grade: B] If the idea of meticulous Verdi appeals to you, you'll love it.... The sound, however, is terrific, clear and crisp. Sarah Bryan Miller