This was a memorial concert for Herbert von Karajan, and true to his spirit, a large-scale ‘traditional’ performance, both in regard to edition, instruments, chorus and soloists (a formidable line-up headed by powerhouses Mattila and Terfel). But that said, it has virtues – as Stanley Sadie noted when reviewing the CD version (DG, 6/00) – that are very much Abbado’s, and to which the restrained baroque elegance of Salzburg Cathedral, with its airy grey walls and classical proportions, makes a deeply satisfying and appropriate backdrop. The opening arias, finely sung by Harnisch, set the tone well. Abbado’s approach is cool and refined throughout, occasionally almost too restrained; but feeling is there none the less, in the Lacrimosa, for example. It helps that the chorus – mixed adult voices – is not enormous, and very clean-cut in its delivery, so that the textures emerge clearly enough even in the cathedral acoustic, which comes over very naturally in the surround-sound recording. Occasionally, though, the sound is just too smooth; a little more damnation in the Dies irae and Confutatis Maledictis would not have gone amiss, from all concerned.
The soloists also achieve a strong sense of ensemble. Mattila and Schade, in particular, sing with a clear beauty that would have delighted Karajan, and Terfel subdues his forceful delivery to a sepulchrally reverential tone; although rather light, Mingardo’s mezzo fits in well. This is not a dramatic performance, lacking the crackling energy of Gardiner, or indeed of Karajan himself, in his massive 1987 version. But whether it’s due to the occasion or the setting, excellently caught in crystal-clear pictures, Abbado achieves an appealing serenity.'