One of the first‚ if not the very first version of Mozart’s Requiem issued on CD‚ Peter Schreier’s reading was recorded in 1982 and won a Gramophone Award. It wins a deserved place in the ‘Philips 50’ series‚ particularly when it now comes with a very generous coupling in the versions of the Coronation Mass and Ave verum corpus recorded by Schreier with the same choir and orchestra in Leipzig in 1989 and 1992 respectively. Schreier consistently brings out the bitingly dramatic quality of the Requiem‚ drawing superb singing not just from the soloistsÊ–Êwith Margaret Price singing ravishinglyÊ–Êbut also from the magnificent Leipzig Radio Choir in electrifying form. Yet‚ nearly 20 years after its first appearance‚ the initial impression I found this time was one of disappointment‚ when the opening ‘Introitus’‚ taken at a plodding speed‚ sounds heavy by today’s standards. Even the Ave verum lacks something in freshness. That contrasts sharply with the incisiveness of the fast sections of the Requiem‚ with contrapuntal writing exceptionally clear‚ even though there are intrusions from the aspirated style favoured in Germany. Another slight reservation is that the trombone in the ‘Tuba mirum’ suggests euphonium­tone‚ as so often in East European performances. The Coronation Mass‚ with another fine quartet of soloists‚ is equally lively and fresh‚ with sharply exaggerated dotted rhythms at the start. The chorus are on the large side for this work‚ but again the incisiveness of the singing justifies it‚ with equally warm‚ well­balanced recorded sound.