Judgement Day - Mozart vs Verdi

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dies_Irae
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dies_Irae

Guest
Who do you think better captures the Last Judgment - Mozart or Verdi? See below…

Dies Irae, Mozart: youtube.com/watch?v=nl-wRbJoWVA

Dies Irae, Verdi: youtube.com/watch?v=Y-0CjwiWr_c

***Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus! ***

(Day of wrath, day of anger
will dissolve the world in ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sibyl.
Great trembling there will be
when the Judge descends from heaven
to examine all things closely.)
 
The conductor in the Mozart version just kills me.

Another vote for Gregorian Chant here. 🙂

However, in terms of music, I prefer the Mozart one.

JD
 
nightwalker said:
This one: youtube.com/watch?v=BWYRYecNyyE
Click to expand...
:bigyikes: That reminds me of that neo-medieval German band (can’t remember the name) the link of which my son sent me.

For me, it is Berlioz:

youtube.com/watch?v=rimZC_gkV1A

I have loved this since I was a teenager.

On the other hand, I have sung the Faure Requiem with my cathedral choir from start to finish for the Requiem Mass of our beloved Bishop of blessed memory, Stanley J. Ott.

He was a humble man and dearly, dearly beloved.

youtube.com/watch?v=9XZCCR7DDUA

The Durufle Requiem was an option as well (we practiced both for a year)… Our good bishop chose the Faure.

I speak to all of you fellow choristers and ask you how often do we EVER get to sing an entire Requiem? I’ll never forget that the longest day I live.
 
Dauphin said:
Of the two, I say Mozart.

This one captures it perfectly, though:

youtube.com/watch?v=Dlr90NLDp-0

Nothing better than gregorian chant.
Click to expand...
I’m partial to the Mozart one as well. I love the Gregorian requiem, but that’s about the only time I like Gregorian chant. I may feel differently if I were listening to it live, in one of those big, echoey European Cathedrals, but for now it just isn’t my thing.
 
I vote for none of the above 🙂

Instead, the nod has to go to modern composer Karl Jenkins.

His version, though it could not be used in an actual liturgical setting, just screams “apocalypse!” :rolleyes:

youtube.com/watch?v=het4wj9hiCg

(of the two, though, i think Verdi sounds scarier and judge-ier)
 
I knew I should have included the Gregorian Chant in the poll!

Must admit - “Rage” never crossed my mind.

I had not heard the Berlioz version though - the words seem different, was it translated or something?

Of the two in the poll, I picked Mozart’s because it sustains the intensity throughout. Verdi’s starts off with more power though.
 
brotherhrolf said:
The Durufle Requiem was an option as well (we practiced both for a year)… Our good bishop chose the Faure.
Click to expand...
My university choir sang the Durufle years ago. I loved it! I still sometimes catch myself singing the Kyrie section where it’s just the baritones. We got to perform it in Europe and in Atlanta at the Episcopal Cathedral here. Dem’ Anglicans gotz a nice soundin’ church, let me tell ya.😃
 
God save all here.

I had to go with the Mozart. (I almost always go with the Mozart.) The Berlioz was fantastic, though. Thanks, brotherhrolf, for the link. I had forgotten about the Berlioz version.
 
Verdi works for the “end of the world - judgement is upon us” drama and apocalyptic feel.

BUT

Mozart works for everything else like tone, melody, harmony, drama, emotion, urgency, and BEAUTY. Love the Requiem.
Love Bernstein too (rockin’ out, like always!).

Thanks for that link! Going in my favorites!
 
belgianwaffles9 said:
I vote for none of the above 🙂

Instead, the nod has to go to modern composer Karl Jenkins.

His version, though it could not be used in an actual liturgical setting, just screams “apocalypse!” :rolleyes:

youtube.com/watch?v=het4wj9hiCg

(of the two, though, i think Verdi sounds scarier and judge-ier)
Click to expand...
Who IS Karl Jenkins? And they say there is no decent liturgical music being written? Whoah! Amazon here I come.
 
**His version, though it could not be used in an actual liturgical setting, just screams “apocalypse!” **

I just heard the Karl Jenkins Dies Irae. Yes, it does scream “Apocalypse!”, but isn’t that the theme of the sequence?
 
bpbasilphx said:
**His version, though it could not be used in an actual liturgical setting, just screams “apocalypse!” **

I just heard the Karl Jenkins Dies Irae. Yes, it does scream “Apocalypse!”, but isn’t that the theme of the sequence?
Click to expand...
Yes, exactly my point. Glad you liked it 🙂
brotherhrolf said:
Who IS Karl Jenkins? And they say there is no decent liturgical music being written? Whoah! Amazon here I come.
Click to expand...
From wiki: Dr. Karl William Jenkins OBE (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer. Jenkins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours list for 2005.

Jenkins is most famous for his brain-child Adiemus, which you may have heard of. But he’s done a few mass settings, not really for actual liturgical use, as well.

And interestingly, he was a member of Soft Machine, the most drugged-out sounding band in hippie history 🙂
 
I married a “hippie chick”. :rotfl: :rotfl: Thirty years later, we have finally agreed on what we will or will not play in the other’s presence. I have never liked the music of my contemporaries.

I have listened to Adiemus and quite frankly, Dr. Jenkins could easily compose motets in Latin or in English that would be perfectly appropriate for Mass. We sing a good bit by John Rutter. Some consider him a “hack” but he is head and shoulders abouve Haagen, Haus et al.

No one has mentioned John Tavener’s Celtic Requiem - probably for good reason.
 
brotherhrolf said:
I married a “hippie chick”. :rotfl: :rotfl: Thirty years later, we have finally agreed on what we will or will not play in the other’s presence. I have never liked the music of my contemporaries.

I have listened to Adiemus and quite frankly, Dr. Jenkins could easily compose motets in Latin or in English that would be perfectly appropriate for Mass. We sing a good bit by John Rutter. Some consider him a “hack” but he is head and shoulders abouve Haagen, Haus et al.

No one has mentioned John Tavener’s Celtic Requiem - probably for good reason.
Click to expand...
I completely agree; Jenkins is perfectly capable of beautiful mass settings. the Two requiems he has done already are great, musically, though they arent exactly designed for true liturgical use. I hope that he someday does a mass setting.

I would also love to see a mass setting done by Sufjan Stevens. He is, by all accounts, musically bizarre. But he can pull off some hauntingly beautiful tunes, and is deeply religious:

matt0009.110mb.com/Sufjan_Stevens-Holy,_Holy,_Holy.mp3
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top