Stanislaw Moniuszko: Requiem Aeternam

In Poland, Stanislaw Moniuszko is revered as a national composer and regarded as the creator of the "Polish Opera". Moniuszko left his mark in many musical genres, and his songs, in particular, are still frequently performed in his homeland.

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Moniuszko's death, Andrzej Szadejko has dedicated himself to Moniuszko's almost forgotten sacred music and, with his symphonic orchestra playing on original 19th century instruments, has closed an astonishing gap in the repertoire. The unique style between Schubert and Schumann, which Rossini also held in high esteem, immediately attracts attention.

In his short life, Moniuszko underwent a remarkable artistic development, which can be exemplified by the three Litanies for the Adoration of the Black Madonna of Ostra Brama in Vilnius. The first is of almost classical while the later works demonstrate more and more symphonic-romantic and even operatic traits.

"Sub tuum Praesidium" is like a great aria, and for "Requiem aeternam" Moniuszko demands no less than 13 soloists! It is a good thing that the powerful-voiced Leipzig Gellert Ensemble extends its proven collaboration with Szadejko's Goldberg Ensemble - Moniuszko's magical sound is thus brought to bear in the most advantageous way.

With the three-dimensional reproduction of this carefully mixed Super Audio CD, this large-scale work has an almost hypnotic effect. The finely orchestrated writing also benefits immensely from the high-resolution sound - a romantic feast for the ears with addictive potential.

"Requiem Aeternam [...] is sensitively performed by the Goldberg Baroque Ensemble from Gdansk and the Gellert Vokalensemble from Leipzig. [...] Overall, the SACD leaves a good impression and contains sacred music that actually sounds very operatic." - Pizzicato (4 STARS)