Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Guido Cantelli, Claramae Turner :: Verdi: Messa da Requiem

Disappointing Requiem

Joseph Shore | Vancouver | 10/08/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Cantelli's Requiem is a disappointment in many ways. As a conductor he reaches heights of emotion when fast tempi are called for, but he misses the depth of feeling by rushing tender passages. The choir is up to the task but the soloists are not, with the exception of the great Richard Tucker who never fails to please. Nelli and Turner are barely adequate and the great Jerome Hines disappoints with a blustery approach that ruins the legato. I was a student of Hines and his friend. I asked him one day if he ever recorded the Verdi Requiem. I thought I remembered seeing a listing for this recording on a tape listing. He said, "I never sang it." I thought that was odd but I let it go. Sometime later I asked his PR man, Derek De Cambra, "Did Jerry ever record the Verdi Requiem?" De Cambra answered, "Jerry told me he never sang it." The truth is that Jerome Hines never liked his performance in this and wanted to forget it. He sounds like he was sick for this performance but sang nevertheless. He sings "Confutatis" like he was scared to death of it. All sorts of prephonatory hums and grunts mar the onsets of the vocal line and he is constantly rushing the tempo. Rushing Cantelli is really rushing. These are things that singers do when they are insecure.

Nelli disappoints with a slender, heady voice, with intonation problems. She cannot carry the emotion of the piece. However, Tucker's "Ingemisco" is worth the price of the CD.

The sound quality of the CD is atrocious."

Exciting live performance by a conducting legend

pyramidcvv | Western US | 04/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Guido Cantelli was appointed Music Director of La Scala to succeed Carlo Maria Giulini in 1956, but died in a plane crash only a week later (Claudio Abbado took the job). A year before his early death, Cantelli, 35, recorded this live performance of the Verdi Requiem.



This performance runs 77", one of the few single-disc Verdi Requiems. It is an exciting reading from beginning to end. Yet there is never a feeling of being rushed. Even the Sanctus clocks in at 2:36, about average for this fugue.



The four soloists do a fine job. Most listeners will be familiar with Richard Tucker and Jerome Hines. Tucker recorded this work with Eugene Ormandy in the 1960s and sounds pretty much the same here, i.e., fabulous. Jerome Hines is one of the few Verdi Requiem basses with the low range power to actually make the low notes of the opening of Confutatis sound out.



Herva Nelli (1909-1994) was actually just beginning her operatic career in the 1930s. She went on to do numerous Verdi projects with Toscanini, including Otello and Aida. She does fine quartet work in the Requiem. However, just before the big Libera Me chorus, she exhibits some noticeable intonation problems, including her high B-flat. However, her climactic high C a few minutes later sounds right on.



Claramae Turner (1920 - ) sang contralto roles for the Metropolitan Opera in the 1940s and 1950s. Hers is a strong presence in the Requiem.



The Westminster Choir, like Tucker, recorded the Requiem later with Ormandy. This illustrious ensemble demonstrates all the power and virtuosity that Verdi demands from his chorus.



The audience noise is unfortunately audible throughout. However, it generally does not disturb the music itself. The recorded sound is dated but still quite adquate for the listener to appreciate this historic performance."