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In Reply to: RE: An interesting take on requiem masses posted by John N on February 09, 2016 at 07:33:56
I think he kind of explained his parameters in the intro, including why he left off the Brahms. And I actually agree with his leaving the Verdi off the list too. (I just don't hear the sincerity in that work - just the theatrical calculation!) Come to think of it, I also agree with his leaving the requiems of Faure, Durufle and Britten off the list! I would have put the Dvorak on my list, although, as the author points out, it does ramble a bit. I think I might have put the Schumann Requiem in there too. That's why lists like this one are fun.
Nevertheless, I agree that it's just a personal list of his favorites (a very interesting one at that!), and hardly "The Top Ten Greatest Requiem Masses" as the title of the article suggests. I have not heard several of the works on his list, but I can vouch for at least a couple of the little-known ones, such as Suppe's. Also, it seems strange that the latest work on his list (the Saint-Saens) was written only in 1878.
One work he doesn't mention, which I like for its austere beauty is the Liszt Requiem for male chorus. I was just listening to it last week. I understand why it's not going to be a hit with the general public, but for me, it's a very moving work.
Follow Ups:
The Brahms is specifically not a Catholic requiem, so it reflects a different viewpoint. There is no reason for it to have "any place for desperate pleading and the terror of possible, eternal damnation." He judges it by a standard it did not try to meet. I think it is an outstanding work on its own terms. We did it last a couple of years ago.
I have to wonder just how familiar he is with the Fauré Requiem if he thinks it has nothing about the pains of hell, Tartarus (Offertorium), and Day of Wrath (Libera Me)! Even though it does not use the standard text, for an actual funeral, it seems to me it reflects the mood better than most, starting out rather dark and sombre and ending with the In Paradisum, reflecting Christian hope. I would want the Fauré Requiem done at my funeral, or performed in my memory.
The author, Stephen Klugewicz, seems to be giving his somewhat vague impressions, but I don't think he really knows what he is talking about.
I am familiar very familiar with the Mozart Requiem, possibly the greatest piece of music ever, having performed in many times, and I have heard the Berlioz and Verdi Requiems. None of them are really liturgical but are concert pieces. I haven't heard the others as far as I can remember. There is ever so much music I have not heard!
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"A fool and his money are soon parted." --- Thomas Tusser
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I always worry if there is just a single recording of a work that lights it up - it would seem to indicate that perhaps the work is too fragile to put across, and a great work should make its mark with a number of performers. I don't have deep experience with the German Requiem, but I have heard it live -MTT leading a very moving performance, and I own the famous Klemperer recording and the Ansermet as well, and all of those have worked for me, in various degrees. I consider the German Requiem to be one of Brahms best works.
In a disclaimer that will not surprise you, as you know my views on Furtwangler's Beethoven, I have not heard any of his Brahms.
IMHO he brings the 1st and 4th Symphonies to life in a way that puts others in the shade. So goes the Requiem: it's like listening to a mid-century soviet orchestra performing Shostakovich: they live the music as they play it. Others--and most better recorded of course--sound relatively bland. Considering how few bells and whistles there are in the Brahms, IMHO the intensity is a plus. Just sample the timpani triplets!
All subjective, I know. There are plenty of European-pressed Da Capo sets floating around. I got mine for $6.
It was the Ansermet that first sold me on the Brahms requiem - I found it to be a slightly gentle performance, that worked very well for me. I have the Klemperer, and quite a few others, but retain a special affection for the Ansermet.
But I'll give it another listen.
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