Track Listings (10) - Disc #1| All Artists: Hector Berlioz, Robert Spano, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Frank Lopardo Title: Berlioz: Requiem Members Wishing: 0 Total Copies: 0 Label: Telarc Release Date: 8/24/2004 Genre: Classical Styles: Opera & Classical Vocal, Historical Periods, Early Music, Symphonies Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 089408062728 |
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Search - Hector Berlioz, Robert Spano, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra :: Berlioz: Requiem
 | Hector Berlioz, Robert Spano, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Berlioz: Requiem Genre: Classical
Telarc's classic Robert Shaw Atlanta recording of the Berlioz Requiem is still available after all these years. Now, Shaw's old orchestra and the chorus he created and trained have remade this massive work with Atlanta's n... more » |
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Amazon.com Telarc's classic Robert Shaw Atlanta recording of the Berlioz Requiem is still available after all these years. Now, Shaw's old orchestra and the chorus he created and trained have remade this massive work with Atlanta's new music director, Robert Spano. Spano's is a 21st-century take on Berlioz's masterpiece, a streamlined, machine-tooled interpretation that's among the fastest on disc. He makes his tempos work, although some sections, such as the start of the Lacrymosa, seem slightly rushed. Shaw's tenor soloist in the Sanctus was sweet-voiced John Aler, whose timbre fit the French style better than the more muscular lyric tenor of Frank Lopardo. Shaw's chorus was outstanding, as is Spano's, although the latter is more youthful-sounding and more closely recorded. The Shaw Berlioz Requiem was an audiophile's delight in the 1980s and Spano's may become one in the 2000s, since the work, with its huge brass and percussion forces and spatially separated instruments, is a perfect vehicle for multichannel sound. In stereo, there's plenty of impact, enormous dynamic range, and some loss of orchestral detail. Sonics alone should make this a hit. --Dan Davis Similar CDs
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CD ReviewsDYNAMITE Andrew Mayzak | Seattle, WA USA | 11/17/2004 (5 out of 5 stars) "I researched long and hard before buying this recording. It was not listed in any of the CD buying guides I looked through and it had not been reviewed by anyone on Amazon yet. So I downloaded tracks from various recordings and compared them. I bought this one because it is the most well-rounded performance and also has the best sound quality. The Atlanta Symphony is brassy and full of depth, providing a solid footing with well-tuned timpanis that rumble without individual drumbeats sticking out. The brass section is focused and packs an incredible punch, especially in the Dies Irae. The strings play in unison very well and I have yet to hear any stray notes. The Atlanta Symphony Chorus is equally impressive, possessing an extremely wide range of dynamic colors that allow them to cut through the orchestra, even on the lowest notes. Their singing is precise, clear, and impassioned. Diction is excellent, but not overpowering. Frank Lopardo's tenor might not suit everyone, but he sounds far away and "heavenly" enough to make the Sanctus believable and sincere. His singing is less passionate than it is other-worldly. Purely a matter of taste... Spano keeps both the orchestra and the chorus in perfect line with one another, stretching from glass-shattering fortes to the most ethereal of pianissimos. Spano connects the entire work with a deep fluidity while also confining the Requiem to one CD, a welcome break from other recordings which push the 90 minute line. I usually don't like Telarc's blaring bass and brass, but for once the engineers nailed it. The sound quality is digitally recorded and first rate; not a trace of static, hiss, crackles, or background noise. High notes do not splat, low notes are not overpowering, and the intensity of the music actually pushed my speakers to their limits (buy some big speakers to fully experience this recording... it will be money well spent). The SACD version when played on a surround sound system is nothing short of INCREDIBLE. There are valid reasons to prefer other recordings (Sir Colin Davis' or Robert Shaw's are both excellent recordings), but since Berlioz's Requiem was meant to be LOUD, this is the only performance I have listened to so far that one can crank the volume up on and not lose sound quality. Add to that the bonus of the performance being excellent and you have a great modern recording of an epic work." Doesn't make it... Samuel Stephens | TN, USA | 11/12/2007 (2 out of 5 stars) "Don't be fooled by my two-star rating. Read the following review, and you will see that I know what I am talking about.
For many reasons, I have the right to be biased in favor of this recording. For one, my sister attended the performance live, and loved it. Secondly, the Atlanta Orchestra and Chorus are a staple favorite of mine. But there are HUGE problems. Being the Berlioz fanatic that I am, I found this CD to be flat as flat can get. The dies irae section: what happened to the enourmous eruption of the four brass choirs? It's as if the engineers turned down the volume on the master-track. Or another theory is that Spano just didn't have it in him to bring it off the right way. Once you've compared this version to, say, Colin Davis' (Philips/LSO...rereleased in The Originals), you will see exactly what I mean. You'd think Spano had an allergic reaction to the powerful sections in Berlioz's "Grande messe des mortes". Not all of this performance is lost, but enough of it is so that there is very little reason to get it. It lacks vigour, bigness, strength, and that touch of fantasy that all of Berlioz's works require. If the fact that this is a single disc attracts you, let me assure you: it is a mistake to use that as a judgement. The best versions are going to be longer for very good reason. But if you insist on single discs: Beecham's is well-respected, and he was a true Berlioz champion." |
