[4/23/2011] Preview: The stretch drive of the "Dies Irae" of the Verdi Requiem (continued)

The RCA Soria LP issue of the Reiner Verdi Requiem -- so overwhelmingly my favorite recording that I don't have much occasion to try to figure out what might be my second-favorite.


YES, THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW, BUT WE SHOULD
STILL MAKE ONE POINT ABOUT THE DIES IRAE

The Latin text of the Dies Irae offers a particular challenge to composers. Almost all of it up to the "Lacrimosa" is cast in stanzas of three rhyming eight-syllable lines (and with only occasional minor exceptions those lines break down into two equal halves with an accent on the third syllable -- "In-ge-MIS-co/tam-quam-RE-us, cul-pa-RU-bet/vul-tus-ME-us" etc.). The eight-syllable part isn't a musical problem (though that accentuation pattern certainly lends itself to dittification), but the three-line format sure is, since traditional classical music tends to be organized in units of four and eight phrases.

I've tried to reflect this in the English texts below, to help hear the ingenuity with which Verdi has organized these awkwardly laid-out verses.


VERDI: Requiem: Dies Irae:

5. "Rex tremendae majestatis" . . . "Salva me, fons pietatis"
(all soloists and chorus)

CHORUS: King of tremendous majesty,
who sends us free salvation --
SOLOISTS: Save me, fount of mercy.

6. "Recordare, Jesu pie" (mezzo-soprano and soprano)

Remember, kind Jesus,
that I caused thy earthly course.
Do not forget me on that day.

Seeking me, thou sat down weary,
redeemed me on the cross of suffering;
such labor should not be in vain.

Righteous judge of retribution,
grant the gift of absolution
before the day of reckoning.

7. "Ingemisco" (tenor)

I groan as one who is accused;
guilt reddens my cheek;
Thy supplicant spare, O God.

Thou who absolved Mary,
and harkened to the thief,
hast given me hope.

My prayers are worthless,
but Thou who art good and kind,
rescue me from everlasting fire.

With Thy sheep give me a place,
and from the goats keep me separate,
placing me at Thy right hand.

8. "Confutatis maledictis" (bass and chorus)

When the wicked have been confounded,
doomed to the devouring flames,
call me with the blessed.

I pray, supplicant and kneeling,
my heart crushed almost to ashes;
watch over me in my final hour.

Repeat of "Dies irae"
Day of wrath, day of mourning,
earth in smoldering ashes lying,
so spake David and the Sibyl.

9. "Lacrimosa dies illa" . . . "Pie Jesu, Domine"
(all soloists and chorus)

Tearful that day shall be
when from the ashes shall arise
guilty man to be judged.
Spare him then, O God.

Gentle Lord Jesus,
grant him eternal rest. Amen.

Joan Sutherland (s), Marilyn Horne (ms), Luciano Pavarotti (t), Martti Talvela (bs), Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti, cond. Decca, recorded October 1967
Leontyne Price (s), Rosalind Elias (ms), Jussi Bjoerling (t), Giorgio Tozzi (bs), Chorus of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Vienna), Vienna Philharmonic, Fritz Reiner, cond. RCA/Decca, recorded 1959
Maria Caniglia (s), Ebe Stignani (ms), Beniamino Gigli (t), Ezio Pinza (bs), Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Tullio Serafin, cond. EMI, recorded 1939

A NOTE ON THE RECORDINGS: The Reiner-Vienna-RCA/Decca is so overwhelmingly my favorite recorded Verdi Requiem that I haven't had much occasion to consider how hard-pressed I am to nominate a second-favorite. True, Rosalind Elias isn't the dramatic mezzo I'd like to hear here, but she does fine. I also wouldn't mind hearing a weightier bass than Giorgio Tozzi's, but I haven't heard many basses sing this music more beautifully. (I've never heard a soprano or tenor sing the music more beautifully than Leontyne Price and Jussi Bjoerling, and I'm not holding my breath.)

There are lots of recordings I turn to sometimes for specific elements. I've thrown the Solti-Decca in here because: (a) we're going to come back to it tomorrow for the contribution of Luciano Pavarotti, (b) I do find I like the performance as a whole better than I used to (though that's partly because of the lovely recording job, which so far doesn't sound so lovely to me in MP3 form), (c) I couldn't really think of a performance I was all that much happier with, and (d) I'd already done the audio file for this, and even I have limits.

I guess if I have a second-favorite recording, it's the 1939 Serafin-Rome Opera-EMI, and I finally broke down and did my own MP3 dub from my Angel COLH LPs. I really don't like the CD edition I have, from which I drew the "Lacrimosa" I used last week -- it's not pitched quite right, and it sounds tinny. (After that I did my own dub of Ebe Stignani's "Liber scriptus.") Of course this recording is no sonic marvel to begin with, but it should sound better than that, or for that matter than the Angel COLH LPs (nor am I confident about the quality of my dub), but I guess this'll have to be good enough. My "Lacrimosa" definitely sounds better than the version I offered last week -- Pinza sounds like Pinza! -- so I've plucked it out and plunked it in there.

Further technical note: You'll notice that the recording level of the Solti-Decca CDs is significantly higher than that of the Reiner-Decca. I might have been able to do something about this, but it would have involved a lot of work, and again, even I have limits. This is going to be a much bigger problem tomorrow, when we'll be listening repeated to three recordings put on CD at distinctly different volume levels. I've decided to live with that too.


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

We really zero in on the "Ingemisco," with special attention to the recordings of Beniamino Gigli, Giuseppe di Stefano, Jussi Bjoerling, and Luciano Pavarotti.


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