Search - Salieri, Beethoven, Gulbenkian Orch :: Requiem

Last will and counterpoint

Jim D. | NYC | 06/18/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mozart probably never knew who he was writing the famous Requiem for, but his rival Antonio Salieri had no such problem: he planned this Mass to be used at his own funeral. It's certainly the work of a craftsman, and while observing all the conventions of its time, offers variety in some of the details, such as the startling key change when the Osanna fugue returns (which almost seems to take the singers by surprise), and a lovely unaccompanied passage for the solo quartet and chorus in the no-strings "Libera Me". Shorter--and cheerier--vocal works by Beethoven and Schubert, two of Salieri's pupils, fill out the disc for a nice program. No texts in any language, which is a shame as the chorus' words are often unintelligible, though they sing well otherwise, as do all the soloists.

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