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Giuseppe Verdi: Messa da Requiem (C Abbado: Gheorghiu, Barcellona, Alagna, Konstantinov) EMI 2002 DVD

Recorded live in at Philharmonie Berlin, Germany in January 2001 during the centenary anniversary of Verdi’s death.

Composed in 1873 to honor the Italian poet Alessandro Manzoni, Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem is perhaps the best loved along with Mozart’s unfinished work. It had a beginning as Verdi’s section (Libera me) in the abortive project to get all of Italy’s prominent composers to contribute a section of a requiem to honor the death of the great bel canto composer Gioacchino Rossini in 1868. The ‘Manzoni’ version of ‘Libera me’ bears little resemblance of the ‘Rossini’ version, however.

A Requiem mass is, of course, a Catholic mass for the dead. Verdi’s version comes in 7 major sections:
1. Introitus & Requiem aeternum - Kyrie eleison: the serene and meditative orchestral opening. The chorus enters in the ‘Requiem aeternum’, praying for eternal rest for the departed. The soloists first enter in the Kyrie eleison to alternate their cry for mercy.

2. Sequenza - Dies irae: is a sequence of 9 movements that, for me, musically depicts the many emotions we go through as death approaches (Dies irae, Tuba miram, Liber scriptus, Quid sum miser, Rex tremendae, Recordare, Ingemisco, Confutatis, Lacrimoso).
The splendidly traumatic Dies irae (Day of Wrath) part reappears often afterward to remind us of how terrifying our fear of dying is, no matter how stoic some of us may be in life... Verdi, by the time of this composition, was no stranger to death, having lost his wife and children, and his use of this sequence as the unifying force of the mass is quite brutally honest. It is easy to philosophize about death until you have had a close shave with it, then even the sternest among us would be robbed of the ability to think of death without feeling that discomforting dread of ‘not being here anymore’ popping up somewhere in his psyche (whether he admits it or not).

3. Offertorio - Domine Jesu - Hostias: is a prayer to god for deliverance by the soloists.
4. Sanctus: is a short and rather light section with the divided chorus standing in for the angels singing a dancing praise to god.
5. Agnus Dei: features the 2 female soloist (stand ins for the two Mary’s?) calling on Christ as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’ in the same melody on parallel eight, starting out uncertain, but gaining more confidence with each repeat.... as if feeding on the strength of the name they are citing.
6. Lux aeterna: the mezzo, tenor, & basso soloists lend their voice to the dying soul who is finally coming to term with death
7. Libera me: is the soprano’s big solo recalling many snippets of the music from the various sections heard earlier, and, taking firm control of the event (no lyric soprano needs applying for this singing part ) guides the rest of the soloists, chorus, and orchestra to a final resolution.

This is a religious work that really is relatable even to non-religious folks (like me) who have lived long enough to have contemplated on death and all its meanings. The fear of non-being unites us across the philosophical (which is where I place the religions at) landscape. It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in hell or angels or even god, and it doesn’t matter how ‘at peace’ or ‘content’ you believe that you are about death. This Requiem will touch you and relate to you that others have thought about it, too. The composer of this thing has been dead since 1901. Death is a daunting prospect everyone who has ever lived will have to face one day (unless you’re lucky enough to be dispatched instantaneously without any warning), but perhaps after hearing Verdi’s Requiem it would seem less lonely a venture for you.

CAST:
Claudio Abbado (conductor)/ Berliner Philharmoniker
Orfeon Donostiarra (chorus master)/ Swedish Radio Chorus & Eric Ericson Chamber Choir
Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Daniela Barcellona (mezzo-soprano), Roberto Alagna (tenor), Julian Konstantinov (bass)

Sample clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-0CjwiWr_c

Claudio Abbado was recovering from a serious illness at the time of this performance.... and seeing him (what’s left of him... he looks half his normal weight) conducting this piece while being in obvious physical discomfort is quite an experience. I was quite relieved that he doesn’t keel over and join the list of prominent conductors who expired during a performance when it was all over. The illness, if anything, seems to stir him into an even more inspired performance than usual, however. This is a very passionate orchestral reading with very prudent setting of tempo... and a split orchestral seating arrangement that spreads out the sound very nicely.

Generally, Maestro Abbado tends to set a brisker tempo than I am used to in all the other works I’ve heard him conducted, but here the only place where there is a bit of a ‘rushed’ feeling is in the connection (or the omission of a connection thereof) between Dies irae and Tuba miram, where the first note from the brass section cuts in even before the last note of the previous section had finished. I have a feeling that it is an intentional effect, though.... and a surprisingly soothing one... A divine intervention that brings sudden calm to a stressful tumult. The famous Dies irae is not only fiery but where most other performances of this section scalds, this version actually burns. His Berliner Philharmonics is simply wonderfully responsive and the mixed chorus superb.

Aside from Claudio Abbado’s inspired conducting, the stand out among the four soloists is most definitely Angela Gheorghiu, the raven-haired Rumanian soprano. I have only enjoyed her voice as Mimi (in Puccini’s La Bohème) and in Rumanian opera before, but her dark and glowing voice is just perfect for Verdi’s Requiem (dark and glowing... like a shiny obsidian rock). The vibrato (pulsation in the voice) is less prominent than usual, and she displays amazing command of her voice. From the marvelously held float pianissimo as she launches into her solo in the offertorio on to the dastardly treacherous Libera me section, she is the dramatic heart of the performance. Close your eyes as you listen to her and you can almost see the terror in the eyes of a dying woman as Death walks in through the door, or the light that descend onto the dark room to calm the scared souls in it. I don't think I've heard Gheorghiu sounding better!

The Italian mezzo, Daniela Barcellona has a sizeable voice to match her height (towering over both Alagna and his wife, Gheorghiu). It is a very clear and pleasantly bright mezzo that comes with a rather weirdly fluctuating amount of vibrato.... It is a rather prominent one on held high notes sung at forte or louder, and actually threatens to turn into a tremolo on exposed low notes (a curious thing, considering that she’s a rather young mezzo). She gets steadier after her Liber scriptus solo, though, and once she gets to spend a lot of time in the middle to the upper range of her voice, she is very expressive and touching.

The French tenor, Roberto Alagna (also Gheorghiu’s husband), is fine, though sounds a bit pushed when he has to compete with the orchestral swells.... and I’m not a fan of his portamenting into all the high notes (it’s borderline ‘scooping’... he under-hits the note and then slides into the correct tone). I’m surprised that the Bulgarian basso, Julian Konstantinov, wasn’t standing in a pool of his own sweat by the end of the performance, since he seems to leak enough of it to fill a swimming pool. He doesn’t have an imposing voice, but makes up for it with his vocal dramatic flares (almost something one can take for granted in Bulgarian singers ).

This is the 3rd recording of Verdi’s Requiem that I’ve heard (the others are Abbado’s previous DVD from Edinburgh, the Karajan DVD from La Scala, and the air-check of Paul Daniel’s 1998 performance in Montreux), and it is truly one of the best. Sound quality is excellent, and so is the video directing (none of that overly long lingering shots of the conductor like you’d see in the Karajan DVD). The music is powerful and this performance unleashes some demons and angels that grab and transport you through all the different phrases of death.... both your own and that which you witness. Not that it would give you a cause for a morbid bout of depression, but by the end of it, all the fear is worked out of the system and it is not death that occupies your thought, but the life that has survived it. Life that you will now take better care to cherish since you have glimpsed at what horror the real prospect of losing it is. Highly recommended!

To those who have never heard Verdi’s Requiem before, please resist the temptation to just pick specific track(s) to listen without first hearing the whole thing in one go. As wonderfully melodic and independent each section of this work is, they are a lot more meaningful when heard all together in sequence.

1 DVD (NTSC). Sung in Latin with subtitle in: English, German, French. Booklet contains track list, a note on how Verdi came to compose the Requiem, and printed libretto in Latin.

More sample from Verdi Requiem:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq8EXcvdwa8


PS: I originally posted this in 'General Music' yesterday since the DVD wasn't in Epinions database and I was expecting SAP to be slow due to the holiday season... But Superwoman Millinocket, our movie CL par excellent, surprised me with a very speedy SAP. So here it is again (in case some of you thought you had just read it elsewhere lastnight).

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12