Mozart – Requiem - Karl Böhm, Wiener Philharmoniker (2LP)
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D minor, K. 626
Soprano Vocals – Edith Mathis
Tenor Vocals – Wiesław Ochman
Bass Vocals – Karl Ridderbusch
Contralto Vocals – Julia Hamari
Orchestra – Wiener Philharmoniker
Choir – Wiener Staatsopernchor
Conductor – Karl Böhm
2 LP, Gatefold jacket
Limited to 3,800 numbered copies
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g Virgin Vinyl
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Optimal Media GmbH in Germany
Label : Deutsche Grammophon - The Original Source series
Original Label : Deutsche Grammophon
Recorded at Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Recording supervision by Wolfgang Lohse
Engineered and mixed by Günter Hermanns
Original session produced by Ellen Hickmann
Reissue produced by Johannes Gleim
Mastered by Sidney C. Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios
Lacquers cut by Rainer Maillard at Emil Berliner Studios
Liner Notes by Hans-Günter Klein
Originally released in 1971
Reissued in 2025
Tracks:
Side A:
1. Requiem
2. Dies irae
3. Tuba Mirum
Side B:
1. Rex Tremendae
2. Recordare
3. Confutatis
4. Lacrimosa
Side C:
1. Domine Jesu
2. Hostias
3. Sanctus
Side D:
1. Benedictus
2. Agnus Dei
Review:
"Throughout his life the Austrian conductor Karl Bohm was considered something of an echt Mozartian. His cycle (with the Berlin Philharmonic) of all the symphonies for DG - a monumental, pioneering undertaking - remains a central recommendation for a traditional approach in the catalogue (along with Josef Krips’s incomplete survey on Philips). Böhm's recordings of the operas are essential, especially his Le Nozze di Figaro (look for a large tulips pressing).
Böhm was as old school as it gets, a friend of - and proselytizer for - Richard Strauss, and less commendably more of a fellow traveler with the Nazi party than either Karajan or Furtwängler. His early training and experience was in the opera house, and he remained a supreme exponent of the operatic repertoire, above all Strauss, Wagner, Mozart and even Berg (his pioneering recordings of the operas Wozzeck and Lulu on DG remain top choices, and his Ring cycle recorded live at Bayreuth for Philips is often unfairly passed over in comparison to Karajan and Solti).
This recording of Mozart’s Requiem was unknown to me before writing this review, and in all honesty I will confess to the work being far from my list of favorites, even though I have sung it. (Like many I tend to prefer the Mass in C minor, which I sang at school). I also produced a live recording of the Requiem (in the Maunder completion) with Christopher Hogwood and the Handel and Haydn Society for NPR back in the day. Nevertheless, I was intensely curious to audition this Böhm rendering from 1971…
Böhm’s intentions are clear from the outset. The opening string footfalls and sustained, lamenting wind phrases of the Requiem Aeternam evoke a wintry funeral procession, slow and stately. When the choir enters with its plea (“Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them…”) it is somewhat more commanding than pleading. Before long we hear the first entry of one of the glories of this recording, the voice of soprano Edith Mathis, as she declares mankind’s vow of fealty to the Almighty even in death.
In this Original Source remastering, Mathis’s voice expands effortlessly to fill the acoustical space of the Musikverein, which in this recording takes on something of a cathedral quality owing, no doubt, to the large number of microphones needed to accommodate the large orchestra and choir. However the large acoustic never overwhelms the direct sound, and anoints a suitably ecclesiastical aura upon the proceedings. The more three-dimensional rendering typical of all these Original Source reissues is a result of folding in the surround channels, and there is a greater coherence and expanse to the soundstage than on the original LP.
The large Kyrie double fugue is again taken at a noticeably steady pace, no doubt to emphasize the seriousness of the musical procedure and statement - a standard approach pre-HIP. This is where a listener familiar with today’s speedier tempi in this kind of music might feel the performance is a bit heavy-going. A quick comparison to Hogwood’s total timing of 2:31 compared to Böhm's 3:15 tells all; and even other large-scale performances from Frühbeck de Burgos (EMI) and Gary Bertini (Phoenix) clock in around that faster 2:30.
In general what we already hear emerging from Böhm is an inclination to use weight as much as speed to delineate the more ferocious passages of the work. Let me emphasize, however, that this is not dead weight as one might encounter with certain interpretations of, say, late Klemperer - or even Karl Richter in some of his recordings (his ghastly, dead-on-arrival Messiah, for example). This is weight as in letting the full force of Mozart’s utterances be felt as well as heard, with plenty of clear articulation still going on in the orchestra. The Original Source remastering not only aids in expanding the sense of a large body of performers in front of the listener, but also in making that inner articulation audible and present. Another delicious bonus is that whenever the organ makes its presence felt, we really hear and feel it.
As with the earlier Original Source reissue of Karajan’s Verdi Requiem, where the remastering allows the original recording to shine in ways previously unheard is in the solo voices. The full force and range of the human voice is articulated effortlessly, and expands with no sense of dynamic constraint, filling the acoustical space with none of the effort we hear on most recordings of large-scale vocal music in oratorios and opera. After the heaven-storming Dies Irae (“That day of wrath, that dreadful day/Shall heaven and earth in ashes lay”), Mozart’s quirky setting of the Tuba Mirum (“The mighty trumpet's wondrous tone/Shall rend each tomb's sepulchral stone/And summon all before the Throne”) for solo trombone and bass has real impact, with Karl Ridderbusch’s authoritative bass ringing out in all its glory. That trombone’s sonority is also revealed with a timbral fidelity and range that approaches the real thing, and resonates tellingly in the Musikverein acoustic.
When the other soloists (alto, Julia Hamari, and tenor, Wieslaw Ochmann) join Ridderbusch and Mathis we are treated to a masterclass in this kind of grand oratorio singing, with the revitalized sonics allowing us to fully enjoy every nuance of these wonderful voices as they interweave effortlessly. This is one of the best line-ups of solo voices in the Requiem on record that I’ve heard. (And the success of this remastering really makes me want to encourage DG to select an opera for future Original Source treatment).
For me this is the moment at which this recording really gets into its groove, confirmed by the Choir of the Vienna State Opera's authoritative statements in the Rex Tremendae (“King of tremendous majesty”).
Over and over again you will hear Böhm’s mastery as an opera conductor come through in how he uses the orchestra to lead and caress, cajole and underline the choral and vocal lines. Listen to how beautifully he supports the soloists in the Recordare.
And thus we arrive at the brilliantly conceived movement featured in Amadeus, the Confutatis, in which Mozart juxtaposes the souls of the dead writhing in the flames of eternal damnation with voices of supplication to the heavens (“I kneel with submissive heart, my contrition is like ashes, help me in my final condition”). It’s a steadier tempo than in other renderings, but once more Böhm’s brilliant way with the orchestral accompaniment points up every little detail to create a strong emotional effect.
That heart-rending emotion carries over into the Lacrimosa. Again, the steady tempo may be slower than expected, but Böhm and his choir are able to sustain the line and the intensity. The wailing, disjointed chromatic string figures that accompany the choir’s lament (“That day of tears and mourning, when from the ashes shall arise, all humanity to be judged. Spare us by your mercy, Lord, gentle Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest. Amen.”) feel like they are rending the heavens. However, we know that Mozart's original contributions to this movement end at bar 8, so much of this is Süssmayr's own completion from the composer's sketches (many of which are lost).
If you are not sold on Böhm’s approach by this point you never will be. I must confess that I approached this recording with a degree of skepticism, but with each listening I found more to admire. The Original Source remastering has - true to form - lifted a veil, and one is able to listen into the performance, in particular to enjoy the solo voices in all their sonic glory, feel the weight and power of the choir, and discern all the filigree orchestral detail which Böhm brings out so effectively.
ut... this remains a resolutely old-fashioned, maybe even stentorian performance. I can imagine that many will prefer something slightly less overtly “serious” or heavy in its manner. But this is a "Requiem" after all, so there is much to be gained from Böhm’s approach - and like I said before, this team of soloists is exquisite.
This is very much a record that is a matter of taste in terms of performance, but in matters of sound it yields to few other large-scale Requiem recordings that I’ve heard. Yes, the large choir occasionally sounds like it is pushing at the boundaries of what the tape can accommodate, but Rainer Maillard’s purist remastering and Sidney C. Meyer’s dynamic cutting obviate the shortcomings here as much as is possible. My only other quibble would be an occasional thinness in the violin sound, a characteristic of many DG recordings of this period. It’s tempered by the new remastering, but it's still there. Was this perhaps down to the microphones the DG engineers favored on certain recordings?
Pressed as always at Optimal at 33rpm, and smartly spread over four sides to prevent any chance of inner groove distortion, my copy was immaculate. The usual Original Source gatefold and insert give us full recording session information, original sleeve notes and extra photographs.
If you love this work, you are probably familiar with this recording already, and the sonic refresh is self-recommending. If you are more of a Mozart Requiem novice then I hope I have given you a good idea of whether this particular version is for you or not. Authenticists will want to investigate Hogwood’s fine version of Richard Maunder’s completion, and it’s a really good performance with excellent soloists and boys' voices (the Westminster Cathedral Choir). Hogwood doesn’t always get the credit I think he’s due in his choral and operatic re-thinks. For smaller forces you can go with John Butt, immaculately recorded as always on Linn. For a bigger-boned approach similar to Böhm, but with an inclination to move things along ever so slightly more, consider Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Gary Bertini (a new discovery for me).
A quick ratings note: I found this one hard to rate because a lot will depend on whether you respond to the performance or not - a performance which, in and of itself, is excellent. Also, while the sound is likewise excellent there are aspects to it which might bother some more than others. On the other hand the sonic refresh is substantial. In both cases I decided to err on the generous side. (I urge all to judge more by my comments than by my ratings).
This record preserves a long and noble tradition of fine Mozartian performance, and should not be dismissed simply because it does not fit in to current vogues of performance practice. There is a cumulative power and poignancy to this thoughtful account, the product of Böhm’s lifetime of contemplation and performance of this score, and this Original Source revitalization brings that wisdom vividly to life in your listening-room.” Tracking Angle Review by Mark Ward
Ratings :
Discogs : 4.48 / 5 ; Tracking Angle : Music 9 / 11 , Sound 9 / 11