Karajan: Mozart – Requiem K.626 (FLAC)

Performer: José van Dam, Rudolf Scholz, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Werner Krenn
Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 256 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Requiem for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, K. 626
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
with Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Rudolf Scholz, Jose Van Dam, Agnes Baltsa, Werner Krenn
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan

01. Requiem aeternam
02. Kyrie
03. Dies irae
04. Tuba mirum
05. Rex tremendae
06. Recordare
07. Confutatis
08. Lacrimosa
09. Domine Deus
10. Hostias
11. Sanctus
12. Benedictus
13. Agnus Dei
14. Lux aeterna

A big-scale performance, grand and gloomy

This is obviously a big-scale, traditional Requiem but it is no sense inert or plodding; its energy is mainly attributable to the drive and commitment of Karajan’s favourite chorus, the Vienna Singverein, who sing with crisp bite and attack. The acoustic is big and churchy and the orchestra set rather far back compared with the soloists and choir but that suits me. Karajan recorded this three times, in 1961, 1975 and 1986, and all have their merits but this must surely field the finest team of soloists, featuring of team of his regulars all of whom have splendid voices, better than that the quartet of ten years later (Tomowa-Sintow is again the soprano but not as fresh). However, in contrast with the choir, they seem rather restrained and over-dependent on smoothing out their vocal lines; the effect is lovely but is there such a thing as excessive legato in singing? In any case, they combine beautifully and are in tune in both senses of the phrase, even if sometimes I’d like a bit more urgency and expressiveness of the kind Solti or de Burgos elicit from their singers.