I have had almost nothing but praise for Robert Spano’s Telarc recordings to date, so this dull performance of Berlioz’s Requiem, never an easy work to record, comes as a big disappointment. There’s no need to go into excessive detail. The performance is admirably direct and relatively fleet, but totally devoid of drama, grandeur, or expression at both ends of the dynamic spectrum. The Dies Irae fails to build to the climactic entrance of the brass. Spano subdues the timpani excessively so as not to cover the voices; the big cymbal and tam-tam crash the second time around is inexcusably almost absent, and the same observations obtain for the Lacrymosa, which flows along with scarcely a ripple of excitement. There’s no cut and thrust to the rhythms, and no sense of the meaning of the text from the chorus.
This is true even in such a cappella numbers as the Quaerens me, which falls flat as a pancake, however correctly it may be sung. Frank Lopardo sounds audibly taxed in the Sanctus, and when the piece has drawn to a close you wonder why such a non-event took up 77 minutes of your time. Telarc’s earlier recording with Robert Shaw had much more sense of spectacle and genuine gravitas, both qualities in short supply here despite well-captured brass in SACD surround-sound, and natural balances overall. No, I think the problem here is a genuine lack of affinity for the repertoire on the part of the conductor, and while fans of the multichannel sound may find themselves irresistibly drawn to the very idea of hearing this particular work, I doubt that anyone who loves and understands the music will find this recording satisfying on musical grounds.
