Cherubini: Requiem (2007)

In the early nineteenth century, Luigi Cherubini's Requiem in C minor (1816) was often compared to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem in D minor, which preceded it by 15 years. In our own time, the recordings of these works by Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque afford us an opportunity to consider them side by side; because both are historically informed performances on authentic instruments, of works that are similar in substance and form, comparisons are reasonable. Of course, the performances in both cases are ... Read More

In the early nineteenth century, Luigi Cherubini's Requiem in C minor (1816) was often compared to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem in D minor, which preceded it by 15 years. In our own time, the recordings of these works by Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque afford us an opportunity to consider them side by side; because both are historically informed performances on authentic instruments, of works that are similar in substance and form, comparisons are reasonable. Of course, the performances in both cases are extraordinary, and this 2007 Telarc presentation of Cherubini's Requiem has exceptional reproduction in common with the 1995 Mozart recording, in both the standard-issue CD and this hybrid SACD. Pearlman and his ensemble are especially sensitive in sacred repertoire, and the expressions of both the choir and the orchestra approach the sublime. However, there is an important difference between the Mozart work and the Cherubini, insofar as the Requiem in D minor is a bona fide masterpiece,... Read Less