[AdamCalifornia]

Which is your favourite Requiem Mass?
Which Requiems are the greatest ones?

The inspiration for this thread was provided by the following facts.

On November the 1st and November the 2nd (and in some countries, October the 31st)
people commemorate their departed family members, friends, ...

Amazingly, many of the world's most sublime music pieces ever composed are Requiems.
Many great composers (excluding J. S. Bach, L. van Beethoven, G. F. Handel, J. Haydn, ....)
composed Requiem masterpieces.

Apropos Mozart's "Requiem"
The Mozart's "Requiem" is the most famous of all Requiems.
After Mozart's death thre were some controversies surronding his
(finished by Süssmayr) Requiem.
This is what L. van Beethoven once said:
Quote:

If Mozart did not write the music, then the man who wrote it was a Mozart.

************************************************** ****

By the way, Beethoven, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Wagner considered
L. Cherubini's "Requiem" brilliant. It quickly rivaled Mozart's "Requiem".


Obviously there more great Requiems than listed above.

 

[jonathanjong]

For me, it's a close one between Mozart and Brahms. I voted Brahms because when I heard it the first time, I just had to sit there and take it in for an hour. That didn't quite happen with the Mozart. Unfortunately, though, Brahms was rather liberal with the lyrics of the Mass, and that takes some points away, IMO. Still...

Anyway, I've not heard all these masses, and it looks like I have some shopping to do... Any recommendations on these?

Both my Mozart and Brahms Requiems are by Phillipe Herreweghe; my Faure Reqiuem is by John Rutter conducting the London Symphony; my Verdi requiem is by Richard Hickox conducting the London Symphony. In rank order, I'd say Brahms > Mozart > Faure > Verdi. The Brahms Requiem awes me as a whole, but there are some real flashes of brilliance in the Mozart (e.g., Confutatis) and the Faure (...have to listen to this again, actually).

 

[mbhaub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathanjong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Unfortunately, though, Brahms was rather liberal with the lyrics of the Mass, and that takes some points away...

That's because Brahms, an atheist, didn't write a Requiem Mass in the tradition of using the Roman liturgy like the others. It's truly beautiful and moving, but never was intended for church use, which most of the others could.

There is one Requiem left out of the survey, which is one of my favorites, and from the most unlikely source: Franz von Suppe.

 

[jonathanjong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's because Brahms, an atheist, didn't write a Requiem Mass in the tradition of using the Roman liturgy like the others. It's truly beautiful and moving, but never was intended for church use, which most of the others could.

I dunno about the atheist bit, though he probably was more culturally Lutheran than religiously (and theologically) so. But yea, a humanist Requiem taken from Luther's German translation of the Bible. Certainly makes it more interesting.

 

[davidhunternyc]

The Mozart's "Requiem" is the most famous of all Requiems.
After Mozart's death thre were some controversies surronding his
(finished by Süssmayr) Requiem.
This is what L. van Beethoven once said:

If Mozart did not write the music,
then the man who wrote it was a Mozart.

I did not know that Beethoven said that about Mozart's Requiem. How funny. In addition, I have several revisionist versions of the Requiem, and as far I'm concerned, they pale in comparison to Sussmayr's version. I am nothing, I am but a fish caught in the net of an empty wind, but I agree with Beethoven.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Went with Britten - he's been growing on me lately.

 

[zotjen]

Well I voted for Cherubini, but I suppose though Mozart will win simply because it's the most well known. Verdi is number two for me.

If you really wanted to ruffle a few feathers, you should have included Andrew Lloyd Webber.

 

[jonathanjong]

Ooh, I've always been curious about Webber's one!

Hey, where's DAvidMahler, Tyson, Zumaro et al.?

 

[Rednamalas1]

Mozart. Lacrimosa is one of the best written piece in history, in my point of view.

And yeah, this is one poll that I don't mind for a change.

 

[Hottentott]

My vote goes to
Mozart - Requiem in D minor, K. 626
Barbara Bonney, soprano; Anne Sofie von Otter, alto; Hans-Peter Blochwitz, tenor; Willard White, bass, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner, conductor.

 

[durufle]

I guess you might be able to guess my favourite based on my nick, but yah, the Duruflé Requiem is my favourite. It's a more peaceful setting in general (much like Faure's version), unlike many of the other common settings.

I love how Duruflé seamlessly combines ancient chant with his impressionistic harmonic sensibilities to create a lush back drop for the smooth, arching melodies.

My favourite recording (and I must have 10 of them), is by far the Voices of Ascension version conducted by Denis Keene on Delos Records. The choir is among the best in the world in my opinion - their tone and intonation lends itself perfectly to this work.