Requiem / Mass.6: Giulini / Po, Npo('63, '68)

Two great sacred works are at the heart of this recording, part of the BBC Music's "Legends" series. The first, Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem, was composed in 1874, two years after the premiere of 'Aida.' The composer's score is grand in scale and rich with the drama and lyrcism that make Verdi the greatest composer of Italian opera. From the hushed opening bars to the thunder of the Dies irae, this is a masterful work. This recording features one of the century's great Verdi interpreters, Carlo Maria Giulini, leading a cast of English soloists and the Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra in a live 1963 performance, taped at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Giulini revels in the work's gentle moments, caressing each phrase and letting the composer's sublime melodies sing. He is fortunate to have a quartet of soloists who were among the finest in all of England.
Schubert's Mass in E flat major is the other work on the recording. The Mass was composed during the same period that produced the composer's "Great" C major Symphony, and is equally grand in scope. Once again Giulini touches the core of the work's deeply emotional heart. These are masterful performances that live up to the "legendary" status bestowed on them by the BBC.