Hector Berlioz’s humongous setting of the Requiem Mass usually defeats its interpreters–not because the big moments, with their 16 timpanists and four brass bands, fail to come off, but because most conductors haven’t a clue about what to do with the quiet stuff in between. Noel Edison does a better job than many a more famous colleague, including Ozawa (RCA), Barenboim (DG), Maazel (Decca), and others too numerous to mention. He’s both helped and hindered by the resonant, cathedral acoustic. It gives the many quiet moments (the “Offertorium” and “Hostias” in particular) a wonderful sense of mystery and devotion, but it also blurs the climaxes and causes a certain lack of coordination between the brass bands and the chorus. So while this recording does not supplant the masterful versions by Bernstein (Sony) or Munch (RCA), it certainly gives a good sense of the piece at a price that won’t put a dent in the bank account.
