Search - Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Chorale, Blythe :: Danielpour: An American Requiem

Not just another 9/11 tribute

D. Ramos | Irvine, CA USA | 01/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I find the previous reviewers attack on composer Richard Danielpour to be uninformed and insulting. This is a beautiful recording and a moving work that just happened to be premiered two months after the 9/11 attack. Does the reviewer seriously think that a piece entitled "An American Requiem" be premiered in Nov. of 2001 without any reference to what had just happened?



The performances are excellent throughout. Mezzo Stephanie Blythe is especially magnificent. The mixing of the traditional Mass text with the American poetry is very effective. Poems about a mother grieving over her lost son and a captain lamenting his fallen comrades offer a more personal experience to a requiem mass.



Give this recording a chance to stand on its own merits. It deserves to be heard and enjoyed for generations and not just be tied to one tragic event in our country's history."