Thierry Lancino, Choeur de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio Franc - Requiem

Published Monday 12th December 2011
Thierry Lancino, Choeur de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio Franc - Requiem
Thierry Lancino, Choeur de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio Franc - Requiem

STYLE: Choral
RATING 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 121760-
LABEL: Naxos 8572771
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Thierry Lancino (born 1954) is a French composer who has decided to change the traditional Requiem into a challenging and eloquent contemplation on human mortality which the composer describes as "both an epic fresco and sacred ceremony." In the process he takes it out of the Church and into the concert hall as I cannot imagine even the most ambitious of professional cathedral choirs being able to perform this - even if the cathedral authorities permitted it. With a typical Catholic taste for paradox Lancino and his librettist Pascal Quignard have combined Christian, Jewish and Pagan texts into an exploration of Death and Time. There are four soloists, each playing a part, which makes this Requiem more akin to an oratorio than an act of worship. Even if we do not buy into this project we can applaud the performances of "Everyman" sung by Heidi Grant Murphy (soprano), the Greek Sibyl sung by Nora Gubisch (alto) along with Stuart Skelton (tenor) and Nicolas Courjal (bass) who share the role of King David with the tenor representing David's spiritual side and the bass David as warrior. It sounds confusing and, to these ears at least, it went on far too long. By careful use of the skip button the 72 minutes on offer can be cut to a more palatable 30 or 35 but deciding which bits to delete would open up an interesting debate. The Choir and Orchestra of Radio France under Eliahu Inbal give us their all and although this reviewer is undecided as to whether he enjoyed it or not it certainly left him thinking. If you want a quick comparison it is Penderecki who comes to mind but a Penderecki who is working with a post-modern, perhaps even post Christian, librettist.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

Be the first to comment on this article

We welcome your opinions but libellous and abusive comments are not allowed.












We are committed to protecting your privacy. By clicking 'Send comment' you consent to Cross Rhythms storing and processing your personal data. For more information about how we care for your data please see our privacy policy.