Glad you liked it, Mike !
Greg, let us know what you make of it when you have a chance !
A great performance of an amazing piece. And such a refreshing experience!
I feel as if there are very few
Requiem recordings that truly stand out to me, the majority of them seem bland, rushed, or without offering, or adding, a unique experience compared to others. Even the past decade or so there have a good handful of new releases, but nothing has urged me to repeated listening, other than McCreesh, but even that has cooled down for me.
But Scherchen & Company have done it. Perhaps it's the more relaxed tempo through most of it, this for a work already filled with relaxed tempos, but I felt very at ease. This was also the slowest
Quaerens me I've encountered, which felt more zen, it flowed at a less structured pace and I loved it. Giraudeau's solo in the
Sanctus was just the right tone, it was like a prayer rather than an aria. And the final
Amen to close out the work was perfect, it truly ascended the work to it's final destination. This is the pinnacle moment of Berlioz' lyrical writing abilities, and it should treated as such, which Scherchen does.
Andre, you mentioned how the music stops at times, especially during the
Angus Dei several times throughout there are these pauses that add such depth to the overall atmosphere, and I love when conductors emphasis these pauses. Norrington does this with great effect in his recording, and the same applies here. The only real downside, as you also alluded to, was the lack of definition with the sound quality, which a movement like the
Dies irae and its multiple brass ensembles heavily benefits from newer recording procedures, but Scherchen, the orchestra and choir perform with such heavy passion that any sound issues are placed in the background.
Thanks for the rec,
Andre! I went ahead and bough the MP3 version but will keep my eye out for a hard copy, if that is possible.
