Solo voices, SATB chorus, orchestra (2 Corni di bassetto, 2 Fg, 2 Tr, 3 Trb, Tim...(+)
Solo voices, SATB chorus,
orchestra (2 Corni di
bassetto, 2 Fg, 2 Tr, 3
Trb, Timp, 2 Vl, Va, Bc)
SKU: CA.5165203
Completed and edited
by Howard Arman.
Composed by Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart. Edited by
Howard Arman. Arranged by
Howard Arman. Vocal
score. KV 626. Duration
50 minutes. Carus Verlag
#5165203. Published by
Carus Verlag
(CA.5165203).
ISBN
9790007294243. Key: D
minor. Latin.
The
English conductor and
composer Howard Arman has
presented us with a
completed version of
Mozartâ??s Requiem.
â??Another one?â? you
might ask, since this
publication is only the
latest in a long line
reaching back to the
traditional Sü�mayr
version. Yet such is the
enormous power of
Mozartâ??s score that
the challenge and appeal
of completing it remain
undiminished. After two
decades of intensive
study, Howard Armanâ??s
additions to Mozartâ??s
great original show the
requisite care and
respect while
incorporating many new
insights.
Armanâ?
?s approach is
particularly fruitful.
Always aware of the
appropriate limits to
such re-creative work, he
orients himself towards
the typical
characteristics of
Mozartâ??s brilliant
composing style: The
masterly compositional
technique, the search for
innovative solutions to
every problem, and even
the terse treatment of
the text with extremely
suggestive harmonies. All
of this leads to a number
of new listening
experiences. In the Tuba
mirum, for example, we
enjoy a warm, cohesive
ensemble sound, supported
by the bassoons, which
depart from the bass
line. The Confutatis
presents a quite
different picture: Even
the basset horns are
drawn down into the
infernal depths. This
effect is reinforced by
the independence of the
trombones; rather than
simply following the
choral parts, the
instrumentâ??s unique
sound is given an
opportunity to shine.
Armanâ??s Lacrimosa
achieves a lively
Mozartian feel by
granting the voices
considerable freedom
rather than following a
rigid pattern. And he
concludes the movement
with a fugal Amen,
whereby the focus is not
so much on the
counterpoint itself, but
rather â?? in the spirit
of Mozart â?? on
creating a sense of drama
and illuminating the
theme in all its possible
facets. Mozartâ??s
fragment ends with the
Hostias, and so does
Armanâ??s completion.
For the four
following movements
(Sanctus to Communio) we
have nothing from Mozart,
and so here, where the
master is silent, Arman
finally returns to
Sü�mayr, the man who
was closest to Mozart at
the time of his death and
whose efforts to fill the
blank manuscripts still
garner our respect
today.
Armanâ??s
version has already
proven its practical
value. The premiere with
the Bavarian Radio Choir
was enthusiastically
received by audiences and
press alike â?? and
celebrated as offering a
scholarly, entirely fresh
perspective on
Mozartâ??s
masterpiece.
-
World premiere by the
Bavarian Radio Choir
-
Enthusiastically received
by audience and
press.
