Requiem

OK, it's a mass for the dead. I get it. But G. Verdi really knew how to set a text. After forty years of writing accompaniment to feeble (and sometimes befuddling libretti) he finally got words that inspired his best efforts. Some don't like Solti's "technicolor" conducting. But this is the right place for it. Also, this is a sung piece. The chorus is top drawer. The soloists have the voices and authority Verdi would drool to hear. Golly, it costs less than $10. Give it a shot.

Kim Borg is the bass

Solti's famous 1977 performance with Price, Baker, and the Chicago Symphony and Chorus remastered and released on single CD - it doesn't get better than this. Highly Recommended! P.S. Why are 37 reviews on this page all for DIFFERENT recordings - not Solti's. This is so frustrating!

A great recording of this Verdi work. Listen to it if you haven't.

If you are a Requiem nut then there are better recordings (older ones on Long Player) that are better. passable though.

Ahh The angles sing!

I loved it

the cd came with a deep scratch in it. can not use. bummed.

Die Bedeutung der 3 Sterne, die ich vergebe, trifft es für mich 100%ig. Ich liebe das Verdi-Requiem und kenne viele Aufnahmen. Diese ist solide, aber Gänsehaut stellt sich bei mir nicht ein.

Some years ago I was looking for a recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. A well-known violinist had recently recorded a much-publicised version which had received warm praise from many critics. The only problem was it was on sale for around £16, a more considerable sum in the mid-nineties than it would be today and one I felt I could not afford. On a trip to my local record shop, however, I found two versions on sale for around a quarter of that price. Were they made by unknown soloists performing with some third-rate orchestra? By no means. One was by Yehudi Menuhin, the other by David Oistrakh, two of the most distinguished violinists of the twentieth century. In the event I went with the Menuhin (the version with Silvestri and the Vienna Philharmonic) and a fine recording it is too. I still have that CD, proudly bearing its price-tag of £3.99. I mention this anecdote because I recently had a similar experience with the Verdi Requiem. In most areas of commerce it is normally true that “you get what you pay for” and that “if something’s cheap, it’s cheap for a reason”. For some reason, however, this does not seem to apply to recordings of classical music. This is by far the cheapest version of the Requiem currently available on Amazon, yet it features the great Georg Solti with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and soloists as notable as Leontyne Price, Janet Baker and Jose van Dam. One thing which might have annoyed me at one time is that this particular CD does not come with any accompanying sleeve notes; I am just about old enough to remember the days of the classical LP, which invariably gave you quite extensive information about the work, its composer and the performers on the back of the record cover. Today, however, such details are widely available online- the Wikipedia entry on the Requiem is far more comprehensive than would fit on the back of a record sleeve- so their absence from the CD booklet is of no great importance. The word “requiem” is of course derived from the Latin for “rest”, but many requiems are not particularly restful in character. But then, I suppose it is difficult to be restful when one is dealing with subjects like the wrath of God, the end of the world and the Last Judgement. Verdi is only one of a number of composers, Berlioz being another notable example, who seemed to be trying to awaken the dead rather than send them to eternal rest. This is particularly marked in the “Dies Irae” section, repeated three times in the course of the work, with its crashing chords and thunderous drumbeats, although the "Sanctus" is another thrilling section. Verdi’s music is so well-known that I don’t really need to say any more about it. What is important is that Solti and the other performers capture all the drama, excitement and raw emotional power which so moved me when I first heard the work many years ago. I am not familiar with the other, more expensive, recordings currently available, yet it is hard to see how this performance might have been bettered.

Questa performance del direttore Sir Georg Solti e dei Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, con Leontyne Price (soprano), Janet Baker (mezzo soprano), Veriano Luchetti (tenore), José van Dam (basso) é una delle migliori interpretazioni del Requiem di Giuseppe Verdi. Se ci fosse stata l'attuale tecnologia di registrazione sarebbe inimitabile. Credo che Jose van Dam sia stato il miglior basso-baritono del 20° secolo. Un'opera da avere nella propria discoteca (io ho anche la versione a 2 CD della RCA)

Le Requiem est une oeuvre puissante qui exige des moyens énormes et une direction énergique pour que le résultat soit digne du Maestro Verdi, le géant des Roncole. Pour cet enregistrement, effectué en juin 1977, RCA (Sony Music) dispose de l'un des meilleurs orchestres symphoniques du moment, sinon le meilleur, à savoir celui de Chicago et de son impressionnant Choeur symphonique. Le quatuor vocal est aussi des plus prestigieux : Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti et José van Dam, le tout placé sous l'éblouissante direction de Sir Georg Solti (György Stern - 1912-1997), grand perfectionniste, chef redoutable spécialisé dans l'opéra et issu de la grande école hongroise du début du XXme siècle tout comme son célèbre prédécesseur à Chicago, l'immense Fritz Reiner, dont il poursuit, avec talent et sympathie, les objectifs ambitieux pour ce merveilleux orchestre. Georg Solti propose, du Requiem, une interprétation respectueuse et authentique, lyrique et dramatique, voire tragique, à la manière d'un grand opéra. Impressionnant !

A fantastic version of this glorious work. I have had this recording on 33-1/3 format for many years, but it has worn with use and years. The quartet is a wonder to hear. So powerful and balanced. "ingemisco" performed by Luchetti is a stunning hi-lite, and I'm a bass-baritone! I have a number of Verdi Requiem recordings, but this one rates tied at the top of my favourites.