Berlioz's Requiem - a survey of the recordings

[Chris J.]

Musicweb's recent extensive, but not complete, survey of recordings of
Berlioz's Requiem:
From Hermann Scherchen (Orchestre du Theatre National de l'Opera de
Paris, 1958) to Antonio Pappano (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, 2019).

The reviewer's recommendations
Inbal, 1988
Pappano, 2019 (First choice)
Abravanel, 1969

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2022/Feb/Berlioz-requiem-
survey.htm

Chris

[Frank Berger]

What would Matthew Tepper say?

[Frank Berger]

I looked it up and here's what he said in 1995:

Among the Best in Stereo:
Davis/LSO (Phillips)
Bernstein/ORTF etc. (Sony)
Munch/BSO (BMG, n/a in USA currently)

Historical Best:
Fournet (Columbia, rec. 1943 in occupied Paris, n/a)
Beecham (Hunt/Arkadia, 1959 mono live perf. Royal Albert Hall; magnificent)

Best on Video:
Davis/BavarianRSO (Pioneer)

Worth Waiting For (never released on CD, or at least not yet in USA):
Previn/LSO (EMI) (my pick for the best in digital!)
Munch/BavarianRSO (supposedly available here soon)

Avoid, Avoid:
Shaw (Telarc; lovely playing and singing, but NO IDEA WHAT THE MUSIC IS
ABOUT)
Barenboim (DGG; snoozefest)
Scherchen (Ades; slow as the dickens)



Notea: Fournet is available from Forgotten Records.
Beecham was released on BBC Legends and Pristine Audio
Previn is available on Warner Classics

[Juan I. Cahis]

I missed a report about a CD set conducted by Jean-Pierre Lore, on the
label ESOLDUN, 1989. It claims to be the first recording of the Requiem
using exactly the forces prescribed by Berlioz, and using a score based in
the first printed edition (1838) but amended studying the original
manuscripts of that time.
Summing up, it is performed by 800 people, (600 chorister, 38 brass
instruments, 32 woodwind instruments, 98 string instruments, and 22
percussions, among them 10 timpani), in Saint-Roch, in Paris. Also,
“according Berioz instructions”, no one tenor is used, but ten tenors in
unison for the Sanctus and the Final Hossanah. Eight choirs participate,
their individual conductors are listed, among them Michel Piquemal.

As a filler, the Resurrexit for the earlier Mass is included.

Have you heard it? Any opinion?

--
Enviado desde mi iPad usando NewsTap, Juan I. Cahis, Santiago de Chile.

[Chris J.]

On 21 Feb 2022 Juan I. Cahis wrote:

> I missed a report about a CD set conducted by Jean-Pierre Lore, on the
> label ESOLDUN, 1989. It claims to be the first recording of the Requiem
> using exactly the forces prescribed by Berlioz, and using a score based
> in the first printed edition (1838) but amended studying the original
> manuscripts of that time.
> Summing up, it is performed by 800 people, (600 chorister, 38 brass
> instruments, 32 woodwind instruments, 98 string instruments, and 22
> percussions, among them 10 timpani), in Saint-Roch, in Paris. Also,
> “according Berioz instructions”, no one tenor is used, but ten tenors in
> unison for the Sanctus and the Final Hossanah.

> Have you heard it? Any opinion?

I've never heard (of) that recording, but I found this comment in a NYT
article:

"Though this is by no means a great performance, the treatment seems
singularly appropriate for the purposefully extravagant Berlioz, who must
have kicked himself in his grave when he heard Mahler's 'Symphony of a
Thousand,' for not having got there first. Despite the indifferent
recording, the sheer hugeness often registers. Insofar as a requiem can
be, it's a hoot."

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/07/movies/fiery-romantic-burning-alone-
the-ever-original-berlioz.html

Chris

[Frank Berger]

What a shame to go that trouble and (apparently) not produce a great recording.

[gggg gggg]

http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics5/berliozrequiem.html

[Juan I. Cahis]

Well, I have the CDs and obviously is not a first choice, but I find some
interesting points on it.
I will comment two aspects that I suppose come from Berlioz instructions. I
detected them hearing the CDs, I don’t have the score with me.
The first one is the choice of a “semi-choir” of ten tenors singing in
unison instead a soloist tenor in the Sanctus.
It is not a bad idea. Independently that normally the specifications by
Berlioz to use some 800 people to perform the Requiem are not honored, a
great amount of forces are used in a highly reverberant space (a medieval
cathedral), maybe around 150 to 200 or maybe more. And in this situation,
the tenor, specially if he has a lyric voice cannot be in an equal
situation as the rest of the forces. Of course, the recording engineers can
do miracles with the microphone positions, but such kind of solutions have
the tendency to sound artificially. In this recording, the ten tenors
singing softly in unison, and placed in the back of the choir, sounding
very naturally and pleasant.

The second aspect I like to tell you, is that contrarily to many recordings
that the choir sings loud or sings softly, here it seems that they are more
combinations, at least three; loud (whole choir), soft (whole choir), and
“reduced choir” (or semi-chorus). For example in the Sanctus, the dialog
between the ten-group-tenors and the ladies choir is sung by a reduced
number of ladies, most probably in the range of 15 to 20 persons, and it
sounds beautiful. I assume that are Berlioz suggestions, J. E. Gardiner did
it similarly in his recording of Romeo and Juliette.

The same is done in the Rex Tremendae. The fortissimo and brassy sections
(the Final Judgement) are sung by the whole choir, and the prayer sections
are sung by a reduced choir (semi-chorus). So you can hear an interesting
dialog in the music. We should not forget that this Requiem was composed
for the funeral of one person (Napoleon Bonaparte, I understand) and not
for the funeral of the whole mankind.

For the technology that it was available in 1989, the sound recording is
OK, big dynamic range with no distortion and no clipping.

[Ricardo Jimenez]

On Mon, 21 Feb 2022 13:05:15 -0300, Juan I. Cahis
<jicahis....@gmail.com> wrote:

>I missed a report about a CD set conducted by Jean-Pierre Lore, on the
>label ESOLDUN, 1989. It claims to be the first recording of the Requiem
>using exactly the forces prescribed by Berlioz, and using a score based in
>the first printed edition (1838) but amended studying the original
>manuscripts of that time.
>Summing up, it is performed by 800 people, (600 chorister, 38 brass
>instruments, 32 woodwind instruments, 98 string instruments, and 22
>percussions, among them 10 timpani), in Saint-Roch, in Paris. Also,
>“according Berioz instructions”, no one tenor is used, but ten tenors in
>unison for the Sanctus and the Final Hossanah. Eight choirs participate,
>their individual conductors are listed, among them Michel Piquemal.
>
>As a filler, the Resurrexit for the earlier Mass is included.
>
>Have you heard it? Any opinion?
>

It doesn't seem to be on Spotify but the one by Paul McCreesh, in a
cathedral in Wroclaw, is. McCreesh is a specialist in trying to
recreate original performances but I don't know how close he got to
the Berlioz specifications in this case. I recently listened to his
Elijah and it is certainly one of the best..

[Ricardo Jimenez]

I just found this:
Berlioz calls for vast forces to perform his Grande Messe des Morts -
which, hereafter, I will refer to as the Requiem for convenience - and
at the first performance the choir numbered 210 singers and 190
instrumentalists. This recording all but replicates those forces. Paul
McCreesh has assembled an Anglo-Polish ensemble, drawn from the bodies
listed above, which performs under the title Ensemble Wroclaw. The
combined choir comprises sixty tenors and sixty-two basses and
seventy-five women - for much of the time the altos do not have a
separate part. This is only very slightly less than the forces
specified by the composer. The orchestra is on a comparable scale. As
requested by the composer, there are fifty violins. The rest of the
string choir - eighteen violas, nineteen cellos and eighteen basses -
virtually replicates Berlioz’s requirements. The woodwind consists of
four flutes, two each of oboes and cors anglais, four clarinets, eight
bassoons, twelve horns and fourteen percussionists. Oh, and I nearly
forgot, there are also the four brass ensembles, comprising a ‘mere’
thirty-eight musicians!"


Read more:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Oct11/Berlioz_messe_SIGCD280.htm

[Frank Lekens]

Op 21-2-2022 om 20:39 schreef Ricardo Jimenez:

I'm not very familiar with this work, but as to HIP performances I
recall very enthusiastic praise in the Dutch press for a recent live
recording by Xavier Roth.
The Gramophone reviewer rather liked it too, I see.
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/berlioz-symphonie-fantastique-roth

Don't think his forces were as massive as those listed above, but still
the performance seems to have been rather memorable.
--
Frank Lekens

http://fmlekens.home.xs4all.nl/
https://franklekens.blogspot.nl/

[Chris J.]

On 21 Feb 2022 Frank Lekens wrote:

> I'm not very familiar with this work, but as to HIP performances I
> recall very enthusiastic praise in the Dutch press for a recent live
> recording by Xavier Roth.
> The Gramophone reviewer rather liked it too, I see.
> https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/berlioz-symphonie-fantastique-roth

> Don't think his forces were as massive as those listed above, but still
> the performance seems to have been rather memorable.

Fantastique, mais...

Chris

[wkasimer]

On Monday, February 21, 2022 at 10:15:26 AM UTC-5, Frank Berger wrote:

> > What would Matthew Tepper say?
> I looked it up and here's what he said in 1995:
>
> Among the Best in Stereo:
> Davis/LSO (Phillips)
> Bernstein/ORTF etc. (Sony)
> Munch/BSO (BMG, n/a in USA currently)

I agreed with Matthew's choices back then, and I still agree with them.

[Juan I. Cahis]

Curiously, Davis/LSO adds a Boys Choir which it is not in Berlioz score. I
suppose that Davis assign to them some music that Berlioz originally
assigned to the ladies section of his choir. Have you detected where the
boys choir sings? What do you think about?