
Requiem
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The sublime reflection of a human being facing the end of life and what comes afterwards, Mozart’s Requiem reaches beyond the realm of music to attain universal resonance. Raphaël Pichon’s interpretation of this testamentary work, nurtured by a seminal experience with stage director Romeo Castellucci and punctuated by earlier sacred pieces of Mozart, is overwhelmingly moving.
1 hour 13 minutes — 1 CD / 1 vinyl.
harmonia mundi, 4 October 2024.
Awards
La presse en parle
‘Everything is relevant in this collage. And beautifully accompanied by the orchestra playing period instruments (what fervour in the Confutatis!), the choir and vocal quartet – Chinese soprano YingFang, Scottish contralto Beth Taylor, English tenor Laurence Kilsby and American bass Alex Rosen. Of the soloists from 2019, only the wonderfully pure, youthful voice of young Chadi Lazreq remains. With a luminous plainchant antiphon, he alone opens and closes this funeral mass transformed into an ode to life.’ (Sophie Bourdais, 2024)
‘Pichon and his superb choir and orchestra playing period instruments, Pygmalion, advance the debate by sensitively adding their own interpretation to this magnificent and deeply moving programme.’ (Sarah Urwin Jones, 2024)
‘This new Requiem is remarkably clear, driven by an undercurrent that is a call to life. The instrumental impact is staggering, the choir is exquisitely precise and the soloists are the happy cogs in the relentless machine set up by Raphaël Pichon.’ (Pierre Solot)
‘The muted colours of the instruments blend with the words sung by a choir whose sensual fullness and expressive mobility move us deeply.’ (Gérard Belvire)