This disc represents a live recording of the performance given in St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna on the two hundredth anniversary of Mozart's death. It was also seen on BBC TV, and there will shortly be a video/Laser Disc version to complement this sound-only release. Obviously it is a special, one-off issue that doesn't come into competition with any other, not least because the music is here interrupted by substantial extracts from the Requiem Mass, spoken mainly in Latin. It may be wondered whether this will bear that much repetition; against that must be set the almost palpable sense of occasion conveyed.
The bells of the Cathedral begin and end the disc. We are carried into the midst of what was an austere yet moving occasion. Solti's direction is direct, not to say severe, even peremptory. His view of death, as conveyed by Mozart in his unfinished work, composed under such trying circumstances, is not a consoling one. Yet the performance has a kind of operatic elan that might well have pleased the composer, even if he would have found it hard to recognize such vibrant singers and such a large orchestra relating to his own time. The Vienna Philharmonic play for Solti with all the breadth of their 150-year tradition within their bows and bodies.
Given the somewhat reverberant acoustic, it is amazing how clear all the contrapuntal music sounds and how forward and immediate is the contribution of the chorus, who—though large in number for this work—sing with admirable clarity and fervour.
The soloists are superb, and I mean that in absolute terms. Not only do all four singers have precisely the weight predicated by their music, each also sings with unfailing beauty and poise. While the flowing sound at ''Ingemisco'' in the Recordare and in the Benedictus shows them fluent in ensemble, the individual timbre of each is maintained. It is good to hear Rene Pape confirming high opinions gained after his Salzburg Sarastro last summer and Bartoli confirming her Mozartian credentials.'