Cherubini: Requiem in C minor

“It would be an oversimplification to suggest that Matthew Best emphasises the Beethoven rather than the Berlioz aspect of the main work here; but he does seem less interested in the fascinating use of colour as an element in the actual invention than in the rugged moral strength and the force of the statements. The recording reflects this emphasis, and is firm and clear without being especially subtle over orchestral detail. The choir delivers the Diesirae powerfully, and much dramatic vigour is recalled in the fugue traditionally reserved for 'Quam olim Abrahae'. Berlioz, however, was satirical about Cherubini's fugues, and saved his admiration for the wonderful long decrescendo that ends the Agnus Dei. This is beautifully controlled here.
Best includes the tremendous Marche funèbre, inspiration here again for Berlioz. Best handles this superbly, opening with a merciless percussion crash and sustaining the pace and mood unrelentingly. It sounds more original than ever, a funeral march that, rather than mourn or honour, rages against the dying of the light.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Frieder Bernius has the measure of this music, as do the choir with their lively "Quam olim Abrahae" fugue, but also, after the rather cursory "Sanctus" that was French custom, with a serene singing of the strangely harmonised "Pie Jesu".” Gramophone Magazine, January 2011

“The Stuttgart Chamber Chorus proves to be excellent purveyors of this regal sorrow, never self-indulgent, never anything less than perfectly poised and gracefully restrained, and yet always completely in sympathy with the music's satisfying mingling of stern formality and tightly-reined emotion.” International Record Review, December 2010

“Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque forces tackle it with a will, most effective in the quieter movements… they handle the strange and highly original Pie Jesu very effectively.” Gramophone Magazine

“Cherubini's C minor Requiem was admired by both Berlioz and Beethoven, with good reason, since both owed a great deal to a work that isn't far short of a masterpiece. For Beethoven, the music's rugged strength and the force of the statements held much; Berlioz, often mocking and unfair to Cherubini, responded warmly to the use of instrumental colour as part of the actual invention. To oversimplify, if Christoph Spering and his Cologne artists (Opus 111) give a more colourful, 'Berliozian' performance, Matthew Best and the Corydon Singers (Hyperion) respond to the 'Beethovenian' aspect of the music. Of course, there's much more to it than that. Both are excellent performances.
So is the present one. Certainly it has more of an emotional charge in the 'Dies irae' than Spering's which, once the trump has sounded, gathers the voices with nervous intensity rather than the urgent drama that both Best and Fasolis discover. Best and Fasolis also produce great vigour for the 'Quam olim Abrahae' fugue. No one can make very much of the Sanctus, a surprisingly weak movement; all respond sensitively to the strange 'Pie Jesu', Best and Fasolis with rather sharper definition of phrasing.
All three open with the tremendous Marchefunèbre, another piece that inspired Berlioz when he came to write his Hamlet funeral march.
Excellent as the new performance is, those who acquired Best, in particular, can rest content.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Cherubini's supporters counter the indifference with which he is regarded by pointing out that Beethoven claimed to prefer the requiem on this disc to Mozart's. Few would agree, but Cherubini's two requiems are certainly among his most lasting memorials. The earlier one is coupled here with his Marche funèbre, which kicks off dramatically with blows on the gong and timpani. ...fine performances all round, poised and tranquil in the requiem's Introitus, building to a furious Dies irae, and subsiding to a serene conclusion.” The Independent, 20th August 2000