In no particular order my favourite requiems are Brahms', Verdi's (conducted by Abbado!!) and Mozart's and I would also like to hear Dvorak's.

Antonin Dvorak Change My World lyrics!

Requiem part 1 Op 89
year: 2007
http://mp3spieler.com/list-of-antoni.../songs/353575/

Mozart and Verdi for me.

I recently discovered Dvorak's requiem, and it is absolutely beautiful! I can't understand why this isn't played more often...

Oh my - I am a HUGE fan of choral music specially the requiem mass. I can safely say that I am an avid collector of this kind of music (whether I know much about it is a different matter) But if you are a fan then I urge you to try the following:

Charpentier - wrote a number of masses all of them beautiful
Bach's - Mass in B
Victoria - Requiem
Biber - more stunningly beautiful masses
Couperin - beautiful
Martin - Mass for Double Choir
Vivaldi - He wrote the most divine sacred music I have ever heard
Saint-Saens - fabulous requiem here
Cardoso - requiem that can move me to tears
Lobo - fabulous fabulous fabulous
Haydn - wrote some incredibly beautiful masses
Michael Haydn - highly recommended

There's just a few to be going on with. I would really explore Vivaldi's sacred music if I were you - it is a fountain of riches. Also, Biber and Charpentier's works are particularly beautiful examples. Finally - you simply must have Victoria's requiem and also Bach's Mass in B - these two are the absolute cornerstone of my collection. I can recommend Suzuki's Bach on BIS or Herreweghe's Bach on Harmonia Mundi. And for Victoria the Tallis Scholars on Gimell are just outstanding.

Hope that helps

J

Hi all! As you may have seen in the "main forum" I'm new.

One of my many favorite Requiems is Mack Wilberg's new one. It was just recently released on CD. I have MANY favorite Requiems, but this one is up towards the top!

Fauré's to sing, and Mozart's to listen to.

Have there been any atonal requiems composed? I imagine it would be very consice considering the text that's used in requiems!

Duruflé
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Dvorak
Berlioz
(And Mozart to appease Morigan)

Palestrina wrote the first requiem for Pope Gregory, (gregorian chant) thaht was written down in notation. The only recording i know of it is by the male a cappella group, Chanticleer. Only 12 voices, it is simply beautiful. I also like the requiem by the early French composer, Gilles, which has an orchestral part along with the choir. As for the rest it would be the Verdi, Berlioz, Mozart. In the same vein is Beethovens Missa Solemnis, not a requiem per se but not to be missed. Even Puccini has one, very operatic but still listenable. There is also the Te Deums of Charpentier, Vivaldi, especially good is the one by Berlioz, like his requiem, loud, stirring and like no other.

I've performed this Requiem, and the Karl Jenkins, and have found neither to be particularly startling. Granted, listening to a recording could result in a very different impression of both pieces, but for what its worth from a performer's perspective, I would say that neither Requiem can hold up to some of the other great masterpieces that are available.

The Rutter is quite... disjointed. The Jenkins is tainted, like many of his compositions, by poor melodic development and equally poor voice leading and harmony. Granted, I struggle to find value in many of the compositions of either person, so I come from a biased perspective.

This is because both Rutter and Jenkins approach composition from a New Age perspective than a Classical perspective. Thus, both Requiems rely more on atmosphere and hypnotics than harmonic or melodic development.

Tōru Takemitsu, anyone?

Dvořák's (I wonder if you see the diacritics...) Requiem is good, only a bit too long. A hundred minutes is somewhat over the top. Otherwise, brilliant. Especially the opening motif, the motto, that four unstable and sinister notes without defined meter and tonality. After the first two quite terrifying numbers, the Dies irae comes as a shock, although it is not particularly scary when taken on its own. But nothing beats the final minutes, when after the relatively optimistic Agnus Dei-Lux aeterna that dark motif recurs. So much fear, so much philosophy. As though Dvořák asks us whether there is really something after, or not.

im totally in love with the brahms, not a "traditional" requiem in the sense of the text, but WOW...cant WAIT to preform it.