Messa da Requiem cover

Messa da Requiem

Herbert von Karajan · 1988

114 min · 20 tracks · classical music

Spotify Apple Music
Own it: Amazon eBay

Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

87 /100
Summit
Higher than 98% of albums we've rated

Verdi’s sharply contrasted sections and cumulative finale reward repeated listening; the added Te Deum broadens the program but makes it feel like two works rather than one arc.

What we noticed

  • The Requiem’s Dies irae is divided into nine contrasting sections, moving from massed choral and orchestral blows to quieter solo passages before the Lacrymosa.
  • The Libera me begins with the soprano alone, then returns to the opening Requiem material and builds to a fugue.
  • After the Requiem’s closing hush, the album starts a separate five-part Te Deum, giving the program a second, more continuously affirmative climax.
Composition 25% of the score
9/10

the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics

Craft 20% of the score
8/10

production, performance, arrangement

Durability 25% of the score
8/10

whether it rewards returning to it

Distinctiveness 18% of the score
7/10

whether it sounds like itself

Sequencing 12% of the score
7/10

running order, pacing, length

Influence 4/10

Known within its scene. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

Disc 1

  • 1 Messa da Requiem: I. Requiem 8:51
  • 2 Messa da Requiem: IIa. Dies irae 2:25
  • 3 Messa da Requiem: IIb. Dies irae: Tuba mirum 3:42
  • 4 Messa da Requiem: IIc. Dies irae: Liber scriptus 5:31
  • 5 Messa da Requiem: IId. Dies irae: Quid sum miser 3:53
  • 6 Messa da Requiem: IIe. Dies irae: Rex tremendae 3:56
  • 7 Messa da Requiem: IIf. Dies irae: Recordare 4:23
  • 8 Messa da Requiem: IIg. Dies irae: Ingemisco 3:57
  • 9 Messa da Requiem: IIh. Dies irae: Confutatis 5:51
  • 10 Messa da Requiem: IIi. Dies irae: Lacrymosa 6:07

Disc 2

  • 1 Messa da Requiem: III. Offertorio 11:37
  • 2 Messa da Requiem: IV. Sanctus 3:09
  • 3 Messa da Requiem: V. Agnus Dei 5:10
  • 4 Messa da Requiem: VI. Lux aeterna 6:48
  • 5 Messa da Requiem: VII. Libera me 14:03
  • 6 Te Deum: I. Allegro "Te Deum" 6:53
  • 7 Te Deum: II. Moderato "Te ergo quaesumus" 2:42
  • 8 Te Deum: III. Allegro moderato. Feierlich mit Fraft "Aeterna fac" 1:45
  • 9 Te Deum: IV. Moderato - Allegro moderato "Salvum fac populum tuum" 6:45
  • 10 Te Deum: V. Mäßig bewegt - Allegro moderato - Alla breve "In te, Domine, speravi" 7:05

What to play next

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Symphonie Nr. 4 »Italienische« / Robert Schumann: Symphonie Nr. 1 »Frühlings-Symphonie«
Listen next

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Symphonie Nr. 4 »Italienische« / Robert Schumann: Symphonie Nr. 1 »Frühlings-Symphonie«

1988
Klavierkonzerte 3 & 4
Go back to

Klavierkonzerte 3 & 4

1988
Full Herbert von Karajan discography Where to start with Herbert von Karajan Artists like Herbert von Karajan Which Herbert von Karajan albums to start with

Reference: MusicBrainz