The Verdi Requiem has,
not surprisingly, inspired many great
recordings, from some of the greatest
performers of the past century. Toscanini,
Fricsay, Reiner, Giulini and Abbado
are amongst those who have turned in
superb versions, often with outstanding
soloists. There is a great variety of
approaches to the work, some conductors
seeing it as ‘Verdi’s greatest opera’,
others taking a more devotional view.
Giulini represents the latter most convincingly,
while Solti, predictably, is amongst
the most fierily dramatic, and, if that
is your taste, then this 1977 recording
will be a major contender for you.
Chorus and orchestra
are obviously of the utmost importance,
and Solti has the impeccable Chicago
forces at his disposal. The choral singing
is splendid, with a staggeringly wide
dynamic range as well as consistently
excellent diction. The orchestra, too,
is very fine, though it was reassuring
to note that even the cellos of the
Chicago Symphony find the opening of
the Offertorium perilous! But
the big moments – and there are plenty
of them – are appropriately hair-raising,
with all-important elements such as
the bass drum thwacks in the Dies
Irae, or the off-stage trumpets
in the Tuba Mirum ideally balanced.
The Chicago choristers are more than
equal in power to the challenge thus
thrown down.
The solo quartet is
an interesting, even surprising group;
the celebrated dramatic soprano Leontyne
Price and the great Janet Baker are
the women - not an obvious coupling.
The men are perhaps not of quite the
same level of distinction, though Veriano
Luchetti is mostly convincing, and José
van Dam sings with an impressive combination
of power and lyricism. In the ensemble
sections, particularly the beginning
of the Offertorium and the Lux
aeterna, Baker’s musical imagination
has clearly inspired Luchetti and van
Dam to some sensitive, subtle phrasing.
But you may have noticed
an omission from the above comments.
Leontyne Price turns out to be a mixed
blessing, and, at times, a bit of a
loose cannon too. Though she produces
some spine-tingling chest voice, her
tone is wild and woolly compared to
the other three soloists. She undeniably
sings straight from her heart, and has
an instinctive feeling for the Verdi
style. Yet she is too often undisciplined,
and the Agnus Dei in particular
is a miserable experience, with Price
cutting rests and hurrying through the
phrases as if afraid she will run out
of breath. The contrast between her
and Baker (who, one has to say, does
sometimes sound a little underpowered)
is simply too great to make complete
musical sense, and their pairing was
an experiment that didn’t quite
succeed, which is a great pity, for
both were magnificent artists in their
own totally different ways.
Solti, given the proviso
above about his no-holds-barred approach,
steers the piece superbly, and has an
unerring feel for the pacing of the
work. This is not a piece where one
can hold back - which is why I would
ultimately reject the Gardiner recording,
interesting though it is – and conductor
and forces really give it the works.
The RCA recording, though very ‘bright’,
is a fine one, with a sense of presence
and generally good balance, though the
soloists are arguably a little too far
forward. Overall, this issue doesn’t
displace the best ones – Toscanini,
Reiner, Giulini and a wonderful more
recent one, Abbado, with another Price,
Margaret, giving an object lesson in
the projection of the soprano part –
but it is a splendid one, and good to
welcome back into the catalogue.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
Leontyne Price (soprano), Janet Baker (mezzo),
Veriano Luchetti (tenor), José van Dam
(bass) Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Sir
Georg Solti 
