This is a direct, unaffected recording of the familiar Sussmayr version of the Requiem, marked by its vigorous choral singing and its strong rhythmic underpinning. Philippe Herreweghe is not afraid of slowish tempos, more traditional ones than those favoured by most period-instrument practitioners. His conducting provides its own justification. The opening “Requiem aeternam” moves with deliberation and a firm, steady tread; so too in a different way does the “Dies irae”, but with no lack of energy. The momentum of the “Rex tremendae majestatis” is quite out of the ordinary; in the “Confutatis” Herreweghe makes the most of the contrast between the sharp rhythms of the men’s voices and the female angelic choir, softening it, however, by easing the tempo from one to the other. The “Lacrimosa” is unusually impassioned. There is a finely energetic “Quam olim Abrahae” fugue, in which the Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale sing cleanly and vigorously, as indeed they also do in the Kyrie fugue. These are of course female sopranos and altos, but steady and concentrated in tone; perhaps here and there the choral sound seems a shade pallid, lacking the brilliance of the best English choirs. The clarity of the recording is a delight in the big contrapuntal choruses. The solo quartet too comes across with unusual definition, for example in the “Recordare” (where there is some passionate singing from them, coupled with pleasantly reedy basset-horn tone) and in the Benedictus, which is done with an agreeable flow. Individually, the soloists do some pleasing things, especially perhaps the soprano (although I thought her initial entry a trifle heavy and certainly over-vibrant) and the tenor; all do well in the “Tuba mirum”, but I was not quite so happy there with the solo trombone.

While not perhaps the most arresting Requiem in the catalogue, this is certainly a very accomplished version, especially for Herreweghe’s direction, with its firmness and resilience and its clear sense of shape and direction. The coupling of the fine D minor Kyrie, now widely taken to be a relatively late work (in spite of its K number), in a shapely reading, is a happy choice.
SS