Verdi Requiem
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Giuseppe Verdi, Ottorino Respighi, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Gioachino Rossini
Label: Références
Magazine Review Date: 9/1995
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 148
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: 565506-2

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Messa da Requiem |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Cesare Siepi, Bass Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Soprano Giuseppe di Stefano, Tenor Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Milan La Scala Chorus Milan La Scala Orchestra Oralia Dominguez, Mezzo soprano Victor de Sabata, Conductor |
(La) traviata, Movement: Prelude |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Santa Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Rome Victor de Sabata, Conductor |
(I) Vespri siciliani, '(The) Sicilian Vespers', Movement: Overture |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Santa Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Rome Victor de Sabata, Conductor |
(I) Quattro Rusteghi, '(The) Four Ruffians', Movement: Intermezzo |
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Composer
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Composer Santa Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Rome Victor de Sabata, Conductor |
(Il) Segreto di Susanna, 'Susanna's Secret' |
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Composer
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Composer |
Fontane di Roma, 'Fountains of Rome' |
Ottorino Respighi, Composer
Ottorino Respighi, Composer Santa Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Rome Victor de Sabata, Conductor |
Guillaume Tell, Movement: Overture |
Gioachino Rossini, Composer
Gioachino Rossini, Composer Santa Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Rome Victor de Sabata, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Giuseppe Verdi
Label: Pearl
Magazine Review Date: 9/1995
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 73
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: GEMMCD9162

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Messa da Requiem |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Beniamino Gigli, Tenor Ebe Stignani, Mezzo soprano Ezio Pinza, Bass Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Maria Caniglia, Soprano Rome Opera Chorus Rome Opera Orchestra Tullio Serafin, Conductor |
Author: Edward Greenfield
Compare the Dies irae in that Dutton transfer with EMI's long-awaited reissue of the 1954 de Sabata version, and initial impressions of the 1954 sound are hardly favourable, with far less body, lightish bass and clattery brass. Happily that is one of the very few penalties of a unique, incandescent set now making a belated reappearance after 30 years in limbo. Its very unavailability in the catalogue since just after the mid 1960s (Columbia, 7/64 – nla) has tended to add to its legendary status, amply borne out in this CD renovation, in which dynamic extremes are well caught.
Even so, I can understand why the late Alec Robertson gave it a lukewarm reception on its initial appearance, so different is it from the Serafin, which at the time was our recorded lifeline to the work, brisk and dramatic as it was. As AR said, ''I have rarely been so puzzled by a recording as by this one''. Statistics alone demonstrate how different it is from Serafin: de Sabata takes no less than 95 minutes over the work, as against Serafin's 73 minutes, an astonishing discrepancy. In the opening movement alone de Sabata takes 6'38'' against Serafin's 4'34'', and the difference is more extreme still in the Lacrymosa, 7'18'' against 4'26''.
The electrically urgent de Sabata – well illustrated in some of the orchestral fill-ups on the set – flashes out only occasionally in sudden dynamic bursts, as in the Dies irae. Otherwise this is a raptly devotional, totally concentrated reading to a degree that would be hard to match. The obvious parallel is the Giulini (EMI, 4/87) made ten years after, again with Schwarzkopf as soprano soloist, and with Walter Legge as producer. Yet far more than Giulini's, de Sabata's is a performance of extremes, not just magnetic but very personal in its new look. So the ''Te decet hymnus'' section of the opening movement is made emphatically marcato with underlining that draws attention to itself. That and dozens of other points which are determinedly different in their exaggeration of markings make me draw a parallel with another Italian conductor, berated by many critics, but always with revelations to bring, Giuseppe Sinopoli.
Where de Sabata rides triumphant is in his spine-tingling authority, even when you disagree and the four superb soloists respond with total commitment, Schwarzkopf most of all. AR criticized her for ''crooning her way'' through the pianissimo return of ''Requiem'' during the Libera me. I can see what he means, with caressing portamentos at a very slow tempo, but the pianissimo half-tone is wonderfully pure and well supported, leading back to Schwarzkopf at her most vehement in the main part of the Libera me, snorting fire. The voice is a degree fresher and younger-sounding than ten years later for Giulini, thrilling in attack on top notes, both loud and soft, with many fine-spun top A flats pianissimo, not to mention the top B flat in that ''Requiem'' reprise, marked pppp in the score and so interpreted here.
Oralia Dominguez excels herself, as cleanly focused as Schwarzkopf, with her rapid flicker-vibrato adding character to the firm mezzo timbre. Giuseppe di Stefano sings with headily fresh tone, and de Sabata even woos the occasional mezza voce from him, while Siepi, not quite as rocklike or imaginative as Pinza for Serafin, is splendid too. The chorus sing lustily, but with characteristic Italian reluctance to match in an ensemble.
The fill-ups complete the picture of de Sabata. The Traviata Preludes, rapt and finely shaded, were what first suggested the Sinopoli parallel to me, and each of the other items reveals a different facet of this fascinating artist – the Respighi sensuously atmospheric, Guillaume Tell given surprising refinement. Best of all are the two little Wolf-Ferrari items, in their point and sparkle deliciously witty in a way one might not have expected from de Sabata. A unique set and a wonderful revelation. '
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