Berlioz: Requiem (Grande Messe des morts) [Live]

Following his magnificent recording of Les Troyens, Berlioz specialist John Nelson gives us the composer’s monumental Requiem, here performed with more than 300 musicians and recorded live in the spacious surroundings of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Nelson has the measure of the vast piece and draws glorious playing from the Philharmonia Orchestra—complete with ten timpanists—alongside a couple of brass bands. The colours are stunning. Michael Spyres, Aeneas in Les Troyens, takes the tenor part and sings with ringing tone and idiomatic elegance. Add two huge choirs, and Berlioz’s masterpiece really hits the mark.