Well, that was loud, dramatic, intense, and emotional, or was it deafening, histrionic, and sentimental? It all depends on how you like your
Verdi Requiems. In this 1967 recording,
Georg Solti leads the
Wiener Philharmoniker and
Staatsopernchor plus an all-star cast of soloists in a performance that takes the volume of the
Reiner recording, the drama of the
Giulini recording, the intensity of the
Toscanini recording, and the emotionality of the
Serafin recording and turns every dial all the way into the red. And although there's no debating the quality of the individual performers -- how could one beat a team of soloists consisting of soprano
Joan Sutherland, mezzo-soprano
Marilyn Horne, tenor
Luciano Pavarotti, and bass
Martti Talvela, much less an orchestra and chorus like Vienna's? -- there is room to debate the quantity of the performance. Should the Dies Irae really have an attack like a Panzer division? Should the Rex tremendae really have the spectacle of the Circus maximus? Should the Lacrimosa really have the force of a punch by Cassius Clay? And should the closing Libra me really have the emotive power of
Joan Crawford? While the
Solti performance may be the ultimate in
Verdi Requiems for some listeners, for others, it will simply be too much, particularly as captured in Decca's bludgeoning stereo sound. On the other hand, the inclusion of
Margaret Hillis and the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus' lovingly sung, beautifully balanced, and passionately dedicated performances of
Verdi's Quattro pezzi sacri will be balm to anyone who loves
Verdi at his most restrained and least bombastic.