Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem Mass in D minor KV 626 (completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayer, revised edition by Franz Beyer)
Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor)
Concentus Musicus Wien (orchestra)
Arnold Schönberg Chor (choir)
Gerald Finley (bass)
Kurt Streit (tenor)
Bernarda Fink (alto)
Christine Schäfer (soprano)
I didn't like Harnoncourt's previous Requiems all that much, but this one is amazing: From the lush, full SACD sound of the (perfectly played) live recording to the stunning balance between the harsh, dramatic and the quiet, mourning parts. He's using the newest critical edition of the Süssmayer Requiem completion, which makes for a sleeker, cleaner and at times harsher orchestration, closer to that of the Introitus - but it leaves the Süssmayer parts intact otherwise, there is no Amen fugue after the Lacrimosa.
But it's not just the revised score that makes this one stand out, the playing of the Concentus Musicus is precise when it needs to be, soften when the score calls for it - I've never heard trombones this piercing in the Dies Irae before, truly apocalyptic, the strings in the Confutatis and Rex Tremendae are crushing, raw - no trace of the saccharine, overly romanticized Requiems of the past (Karajan is spinning in his grave, goofy tracksuit and all), here all the mourning is laced with sheer terror.
The Arnold Schönberg Choir is excellent as usual and the recording captures its color perfectly. As for the soloist, Gerald Finley and Christine Schäfer stand out particularly - Finley's bass aria in the Tuba Mirum is not only perfectly in tune with the trombone, it's also completely free of unnecessary vibrato, this is one of the least operatic Requiems recorded. As for Christine Schäfer, her soprano is of otherworldly color and expression, which might have something to with her personal life: Her long-term spouse, with whom she had two children died unexpectedly at 40 just two months before this Requiem was recorded. Deeply touching. Kurt Streit and Bernarda Fink are no less excellent, on a whole the whole ensemble blends together perfectly.
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