Berlioz: Grand Messe des Morts by Sir Thomas Beecham/RPO

Berlioz: Grand Messe des Morts

Richard Lewis, tenor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Sir Thomas Beecham

BBC 4011-2

Benchmark recording: Munch/BSO, Robert Shaw/ASO (from popular opinions)

Note to listeners. If you're trying to pick your first recording of Berlioz' Requiem, you may want to invest with more costlier recordings out there if you want top notch digital recording. The famous Dies Irae here suffers from lack of impact due to obvious recording quality. Live performance = 1950s = mono = not very good. Only seasoned listeners who can bear mono quality recordings deserve to listen to this recording. Not that it is bad one.

The Beecham recording here is one of the cheapest (single CD) and regularly acclaimed by critics as one of benchmark recordings of Berlioz Requeim. That is understandable. The choir members are still warming up to the work by the first movement, but then they got down to business by "Quid sum Miser". Sir Thomas Beecham's choir gets into the mysterious but pessimistic nature of the Requeim by subsequent moments. Perhaps as the recording limitations shown, the choir suffers from some distortions, especially when the sopranos sing the high pitches of the work and Lacrymosa, a bizarre burlesque piece which can be a conductor's nightmare with it's 9/8 signature. Due to recording quality (again) the movement sounds a little muddled, nevertheless pleasantly pulled off well by Sir Beecham, particular the brilliant climax.

Quarens Me perhaps highlight the beauty of the choirs here, as composed "a capella" by Berlioz without the orchestra. Another great highlight is "Hostias" where the effects of solo flute and trombone chords is hauntingly effective. Tenor Richard Lewis sings well, but whereas for the women, there are minor pitch problems plaguing the Sanctus.

I'm not a fan of Berlioz requiem to note. If you have chance to test this recording, do so if you insist on buying.

Update: There is a recent SACD release of Munch's classic Boston Symphony recording of the same work with often-criticized sound improved and sold 2 CDs with a single SACD price. I recommend anyone interested in the Requeim to grab it, even for those without SACD players. The hybrid SACD is playable on all standard CD players.

Technical: 8
Interpretation: 9
Recording: 6