Four walls of sound

By WILLIAM DART


Berlioz' Requiem is perhaps the most original choral work of the Romantic period, a score that is as volatile as the spring weather we are having at present.

It can be austere or flamboyantly theatrical; one movement maps out its own meditative space, tinted by the gentle shimmer of 10 pairs of cymbals, while another unleashes the equivalent of a sonic pile-up with four brass groups around the audience, fanfaring the Tuba Mirum.

Rock producer Phil Spector made his name in the 1960s by creating a wall of sound behind Tina Turner and other singers. Berlioz was there first, back in 1837, with not one but four walls.

Conductor Robert Spano is not afraid of a challenge when he undertakes a new recording of this work with the Atlanta Symphony - the late Robert Shaw's prize-winning 1986 CD of the Requiem used the same orchestra and chorus.

And the Atlanta musicians haven't lost the measure of the piece in 18 years. Listen to the Introit where the basses clearly enjoy tuning their tones to lower strings and then trombones, or to the women of the chorus chilling with their long, sustained notes in the final moments of the Dies irae.

Spano and his forces create pianissimi that you have to squint your ear to hear, and climaxes that will ring to the rafters if your stereo and neighbours will permit. Telarc's DSD recording catches both extremes to perfection and, be warned, injudicious use of headphones could lead to health problems.

How well Spano understands the cool terrain of the Quid sum miser, with its curious combination of cellos, basses, men's voices, two cor anglais and eight bassoons. It is an oasis of calm with the brass-driven storm of the Rex tremendae only a page away.

Perhaps tenor Frank Lopardo is a little constrained as a soloist in the Sanctus but, unlike some other recordings of this section, the women's voices are focused, firm and emotionally persuasive.

If your CDs of the Mozart, Verdi, Faure and Dvorak's Requiems look lonely on the shelf, this Berlioz recording would be a splendid companion.

* Berlioz, Requiem (Telarc. CD 80627, through Elite Imports)