Mozart: Requiem, Ave Verum Corpus, etc. / Norrington, London Classical Players, et al

Mozart: Requiem, Ave Verum Corpus, etc. / Norrington, London Classical Players, et al

Mozart: Requiem, Ave Verum Corpus, etc. / Norrington, London Classical Players, et al
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Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conductor: Roger Norrington
Performer: London Classical Players
Orchestra: London Classical Players
Performer: Schutz Consort
Orchestra: Schutz Consort
Performer: Nancy Argenta
Performer: John Mark Ainsley
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 1999-02-09
Music Label: Angel Records
Soundtracks:
  1. Maurerische Trauermusik, K477 (479a)
  2. I. Introitus: Requiem Aeternam
  3. II. Kyrie
  4. III. Sequenz: Dies Irae
  5. III. Sequenz: Tuba Mirum
  6. III. Sequenz: Rex Tremendae
  7. III. Sequenz: Recordare
  8. III. Sequenz: Confutatis
  9. III. Sequenz: Lacrimosa
  10. III. Sequenz: Amen
  11. IV. Offertorium: Domine Jesu
  12. IV. Offertorium: Hostias
  13. V. Sanctus Et Benedictus: Sanctus - Osanna I
  14. V. Sanctus Et Benedictus: Benedictus - Osanna II
  15. VI. Agnus Dei
  16. VII. Communio: Lux Aeterna - Cum Sanctis Tuis
  17. Ave Verum Corpus, K618

Music reviews of Mozart: Requiem, Ave Verum Corpus, etc. / Norrington, London Classical Players, et al

Music Review: Radical, rapid tempi, beautifully recorded
Rating: 5 Stars

With all the controversy stirred up by Christopher Hogwood’s and Roger Norrington’s recordings of Mozart’s Requiem, it is perhaps necessary to remind oneself right from the start that Mozart only actually completed the first two movements of his Requiem, somewhere between six and eight minutes of music. Anyone who wants to perform or record more, is therefore forced to use material that is not “pure Mozart”. It has become something of a custom to use the version prepared by Eybler, Freystädler, Stadler and Süßmayr at the behest of Mozart’s widow, who needed the cash she would receive for the complete Requiem; but there is no reason why anyone should not go back to Mozart’s notes and finish them himself, or, alternatively, re-work the version prepared by Mozart’s pupils (and normally termed the Süßmayr version). Personally, I own four different recordings of Mozart’s Requiem, and all of them make a very good job of delivering the particular goods that their conductors have decided on.

The Süßmayr version was recorded in 1985 by the Slovak Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra directed by Zdeněk Košler. The CD subsequently appeared on Naxos, although Naxos did not exist in 1985, so the recording must originally have been made for another label. At budget price, this is an excellent performance, and particular credit should be given to the soloists Magdaléna Hajóssyová, soprano, Jaroslava Horská, alto, Josef Kundlák, tenor, and Peter Mikuláš for their convincing contributions. The choir suffers somewhat from the acoustics of the Concert Hall in Bratislava, but heard on the right equipment, this is a marvellous effort that demonstrates why many people love and/or prefer the Sußmayr version.

The period instrument or historical performance practice experts are all very critical of Süßmayr, presumably because their musicological training makes it plain to them that Süßmayr was not always a brilliant executor of Mozart’s will and that Mozart himself would probably have chosen other solutions. Nikolaus Harnoncourt, on his second recording of the Requiem (this time on an SACD for BMG/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, recorded in 2003), uses the Beyer version, a re-working of the Süßmayr that tries to avoid the obvious weaknesses of Süßmayr but retains a lot of what he wrote. Harnoncourt’s tempi are relaxed, and he emphasizes the dramatic; where his disc really comes into its own is on the excellent “three-dimensional” sound that can be heard even on the CD track of the hybrid disc.

Christopher Hogwood and his Academy of Ancient Music took the most radical path and recorded the Requiem (in 1983) in a truncated form prepared by C. R. F. Maunder, who decided to eradicate as much of Süßmayr as he could and rather to leave out whole movements than to use music that was not by Mozart. As in his other recordings of Mozart’s sacred music, Hogwood used boy sopranos in his choir – and was otherwise assisted by top-class early music soloists (here: a radiant Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Watkinson, Anthony Rolfe-Johnson and David Thomas) and the superb Decca engineering team. The result is a rather baroque-sounding Requiem that needs a little getting used to – but what a tremendous recording, what a glorious sound!

Roger Norrington’s 1991 version adopts a similarly radical approach, using the version of the Requiem prepared by Duncan Druce, who also plays the violin on the recording and wrote the liner notes. Norrington uses female sopranos, but otherwise he is strictly historical (although unfortunately the booklet does not give any details of the instruments used or of the choral forces employed). Druce does not discard Süßmayr’s work completely, but radically rewrites it using Mozart’s notes. The result is a “light”, transparent version, excellently performed by Norrington’s wonderful team, including soloists Nancy Argenta, Catherine Robbin, John Mark Ainsley and bass Alastair Milnes who definitely has the edge over David Thomas from the Hogwood disc. Norrington/Druce go for relatively fast tempi in most movements, occasionally seeming to bring in a dance-like feeling which may not seem entirely appropriate. But having listened to this beautifully-recorded disc a number of times, I have come to the conclusion that if I were only allowed to keep one recording of Mozart’s Requiem it would probably be this one, although the choice would certainly not be easy. At all events, this is a disc that makes you really sit up and listen. And perhaps it will also motivate you to listen to other attempts at realising Mozart’s great unfinished Requiem. I can only recommend all the version I have mentioned here.
More Mozart: Requiem, Ave Verum Corpus, etc. / Norrington, London Classical Players, et al free music reviews:
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