Mozart: Requiem, K. 626

Mozart’s Requiem has stirred interest—and musicological controversy—ever since the composer (almost) finished it. Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s slashing, second recording of the work uses the Beyer edition of Sussmayr’s completion. More importantly, it all sounds like high-level Mozart. The slackening and tightening of tension toward the end of “Dies Irae” has the dramatic verve of the master’s best operas. Throughout, the fine orchestra and soloists are eclipsed only by the haunting, potent contributions of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir (an ensemble you can hear at full blast during “Rex tremendae”).