Strong Live Version of Mozart's Requiem

New life is breathed into an old favourite.

Composer: Mozart Repertoire: Requiem
Artists: Ingrid Schmithüsen (sop), Catherine Patriasz (mz), Neil Mackie (ten), Matthias Hölle (bass), Netherlands Chamber Choir, La Petite Bande/Kuijken
Rating: 4/5 
Genre: Orchestral
Label: Accent ACC 68645

This live recording, made in 1986, instantly catches the ear with the piquant tone-colour and clarity of Franz Beyer’s rarely heard instrumentation. Dozens of so-called historically informed performances have come to pass onto disc since, many of them as dull as anything served up by the blandest of conventional forces. Sigiswald Kuijken’s bold interpretative approach and the comparably full-blooded response of his performing team are anything but insipid, to a fault in places where poetic nuance would serve better than dramatic effect. Worth exploring for its fresh musical insights and as a strong alternative to the Requiem’s familiar Süssmayr version.