Verdi 's Requiem

[Tsaraslondon]

And how about Maria Callas, a special Aida with very high notes?

I am not sure, though, whether the Requiem would ever have suited Callas, even back in the days when she was crowning the Act 2 Finale of Aida with a mighty Eb in alt. I doubt she'd ever have found that octave leap to a top B in the Libera Me particularly conducive, just as the dolce top C in O patria mia was always something of a trial. She would no doubt have illuminated the more dramatic elements of the score, but as with Aida, I feel the part more suited to sopranos of the Tebaldi/Leontyne Price type. Callas's greatest Verdi role, without a doubt, was Violetta, a role Price never sang, and not one of Tebaldi's most notable successes.

[wagnernn]

"Tebaldi/Leotyne Price type",please explain it to me more clearly.

[Mozart]

I put some of Solti's recording on youtube if anyone wants to hear it....

Sanctus
http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/Srf29Z9ck4s


Dies Irae
http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/pW1Uc-grcMs


Come to think of it, these are the only 2 movements I have enjoyed so far...

[Brian]

Luba Organasova (for Gardiner)

That frankly sounds like it has the makings of a classic reading. Were there any reviews?

EDIT: Yes there were, 5 stars across the board and apparently Gardiner has called it the best recording he has made.

[Mark]

A friend recommended this to me and I am forever grateful.

http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Requiem-Giorgio-Tozzi/dp/B00000427K/ref=sr_1_1/104-6944379-3143911?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192386100&sr=1-1

What's the sound quality of this recording like, Anne?

[Anne]

What's the sound quality of this recording like, Anne?

Absolutely wonderful, Mark.  I have no complaints.  It has been so satisfactory that I have never looked for another version.

[Mark]

Absolutely wonderful, Mark.  I have no complaints.  It has been so satisfactory that I have never looked for another version.

Oooh! Interesting. Thanks.

[Iago]

Since I was the person that recommended the recording to Anne , I thought I would put my 2 cents in.

If ever a recording could use the SACD treatment, it's the Reiner/Verdi Requiem. And it's too bad that the video tape wasn't running during that recording session. It was done in the Vienna Sofiensaal and would have made a great visual document as well as an aural one.
There is no tape hiss that I can discern, but the recording is almost 50 yrs old now, and wasn't made with the most modern of technology. The quiet passages are almost etherially quiet and the loud passages (Dies Irae for example), can easily blow out your speakers. There is no happy medium. However make your choice , and the neighbors be damned. For a work like the VR, I prefer a bold, forward, fairly large sound, so I turn my volume control "up". The sound is certainly more than servicable, but can use some improvement. However the performance is nonpareil.

[Mark]

Iago, thanks. Can I expect any peak distortion in the loudest passages?

[karlhenning]

Goodness knows, Verdi didn't build his Requiem for shyness.

[Iago]

Iago, thanks. Can I expect any peak distortion in the loudest passages?

Of course, as always, that depends not only on the quality of the recording, but even more so, on the quality of your playback equipment.
If, when listening, you are specifically trying to hear any distortion present, then I guess you WILL hear some.
But if you sit back and let the magnificence of the performance be the thing you're most impressed with, then you WON'T hear any distortion.

[Mark]

Of course, as always, that depends not only on the quality of the recording, but even more so, on the quality of your playback equipment.
If, when listening, you are specifically trying to hear any distortion present, then I guess you WILL hear some.
But if you sit back and let the magnificence of the performance be the thing you're most impressed with, then you WON'T hear any distortion.

Once again, I'm indebted. Thanks.

[wagnernn]

Do you think Freni is the suitable for Verdi's Requiem?And was it used for any important celebrations in the past?

[Holden]

As far as Maria Callas goes I have to agree with Legge in that she would have been much better suited to the mezzo role.

[Haffner]

My two Verdi Requiems:

Cheryl Studer is outstanding on the Abbado, in my humble opinion.

[Anne]

Once again, I'm indebted. Thanks.

Mark, if you get the Reiner recording, will you let us know your opinion?

[George]

Cheryl Studer is outstanding on the Abbado, in my humble opinion.

Hope the rest was enjoyable too! 

[Haffner]

Hope the rest was enjoyable too! 

You know, George. Gut, ja!

[Lilas Pastia]

I find Freni excellent in the Karajan performance (DG), where the soloists are an uncommonly well-matched team (a rare occurence in this work). The De Sabata version on EMI is also rather special in that regard : Schwarzkopf, Dominguez, Di Stefano and Siepi. But the sound is too ancient to make listening a perfectly enjoyable experience.

In terms of the orchestral playing, my benchmark is the Karajan second DG version, with the great Vienna Philharmonic at its best. The brass playing in the Tuba mirum is truly shattering. Karajan rightly makes sure that they sound the last notes of each phrase that bit longer than usual, making this short movement an extraordinary musical experience. Unfortunately Tomowa-Sintow is a bit fluttery of sound. Had this had a better soprano soloist, it would have been a no-brainer.

[Holden]

I find Freni excellent in the Karajan performance (DG), where the soloists are an uncommonly well-matched team (a rare occurence in this work). The De Sabata version on EMI is also rather special in that regard : Schwarzkopf, Dominguez, Di Stefano and Siepi. But the sound is too ancient to make listening a perfectly enjoyable experience.

In terms of the orchestral playing, my benchmark is the Karajan second DG version, with the great Vienna Philharmonic at its best. The brass playing in the Tuba mirum is truly shattering. Karajan rightly makes sure that they sound the last notes of each phrase that bit longer than usual, making this short movement an extraordinary musical experience. Unfortunately Tomowa-Sintow is a bit fluttery of sound. Had this had a better soprano soloist, it would have been a no-brainer.

So you haven't seen this?




For me this is the absolute no brainer!