Very fine but not really special
Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 10/06/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you knew no other recording of the Verdi "Requiem", this one would be more than satisfactory; indeed it is very fine indeed. The sound is spectacular, the orchestral playing superb, the choral singing by turns nuanced and powerful - really expressive - and Pappano's direction mostly unerring. One might quibble about details such as the over-emphatic staccati he applies to "ne absorbeat eas" in the "Offertorio" or a slight lack of "lift" in "quam olim Abrahae" in that same movement - indeed it is only there that I experience some minor disappointment, being used to more impetus and the kind of swagger you get from Bernstein - but by and large tempi and phrasing are admirably judged. My main reservations come with the soloists: each is undoubtedly fine but equally each is definitely surpassed elsewhere and none has a very identifiable vocal personality - Harteros and Ganassi sound very similar, for example and that is mainly because Ganassi is not a true Verdi mezzo; both voices lack the necessary lower register weight and Harteros cannot float and expand a note the way Leontyne Price or Martina Arroyo could. There is also a little edge to Harteros' soprano where more Verdian warmth is required. Pape is suitably black-browed but again, the top of his voice does not bloom and there is a dryness and lack of Italianate bite which a bass such as Siepi evinced in his several recordings. It is good to hear Villazon back in good voice and he gives a really sensitive, beautifully shaded account of his two big "arias" (shall we call them!), but he is no Bjorling or Bergonzi and there is a lack of gleam in his husky tone.
This is still a very fine account and will give much pleasure; there are almost none of the lapses in intonation so common in recordings of this wonderful music - especially in live ones, such as this - and so much here is right. It's not so much what is wrong, as what is missing that causes me to knock off a star in my rating. I can imagine other listeners being wholly satisfied with this excellent EMI recording and perhaps I am being too fussy, but as a self-confessed Verdi "Requiem" nut and a voice fancier who owns a dozen or so different recordings, I am fairly sure that there are at least half a dozen which I might prefer to listen to before this one."
Gramophone is right, this is one of the best recordings!
James W. Durney | Tampa Bay area | 10/15/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Gramophone rates this as one of the four best recordings of this work. Toscanini's live recording in 1951, Giulini studio recording in 1963-64 and the 1992 Gardiner recording being the others. Richard Oaborne wrote this review in the OCT 2009 issue. Based on that recommendation, I bought the CD. This is a great performance with outstanding sound quality and no miscues. Libera Me is a listening experience and worth the price of the CD by itself. A word about the beginning; the first 20 to 40 seconds build very slowly. With the sound at a medium high setting, the recording became audible at about 24 seconds. Starting with very low sound allows the music to build and fill the room. In an 84-minute performance, I did not find this to be a real problem. I forgot any perceived loss as the Requiem and Sequenza took all my listening attention.
This is a "must have" CD for Verdi fans and for any classical music lover.
"
I feel the fire!
Classics Lover | 11/19/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one recording you cannot pass up. I was introduced to Antonio Pappano by a colleague of mine who played me his acclaimed recording of Butterfly earlier this year and was instantly mesmerized by his musical talents. His latest recording of Verdi's Requiem is an epic performance of enthralling beauty and visceral thrills. You can sense Pappano's intense passion for this work because it translates to the featured singers. I got shivers down my spine during the opening moment. If I get these kinds of emotions just by listening to this recording, I can only imagine how I would react if I heard this in person."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
