<byline><![CDATA[Christine Schäfer, Bernarda Fink, Kurt Streit, Gerald Finley, Arnold Schoenberg Chor; Concentus Musicus Wien conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Released on BMG ClassicsHugh Canning’s insider view]]></byline>
<body><![CDATA[Harnoncourt’s last recording of Mozart’s great, unfinished Mass for the Dead appeared in the early 1980s, so it is good to have his latest views on a work that is central to his repertoire. With the professional Arnold Schoenberg choir, one of the best in Europe, a top-flight line-up of soloists, and his Concentus Musicus, now sounding more full-bodied and resplendent than ever, he gives us a searing account of this much recorded music. The blasts of the trombones in the opening Requiem chorus have the truly frightening character of the last trumpet – in German traditions, the day of judgement instrument is the trombone rather than the trumpet – and the great cries of Rex in the Rex tremendae chorus have a terrifying, supplicatory clamour. The four soloists blend superbly in the consolatory Recordare and Benedictus movements. Only the jaunty tempo Harnoncourt opts for in the Hostias will strike Mozart Requiem collectors as controversial, but it would not be a Harnoncourt recording without something that challenges accepted norms. On the whole this Requiem is as moving and thrilling as they come. Click <a href="asfunction:Tardis.webPageOpen,http://www.bmgclassics.com"><b>here</b></a> to visit the official BMG Classics website. Buy for £12.99 or less, including postage and packaging, before July 26. Subject to availability.]]></body>
