Danish National Symphony Orchestra — Verdi Requiem, Copenhagen, 2017

Captured at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen in February 2017, this filmed live concert presents the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Danish National Concert Choir in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem,” conducted by Fabio Luisi. Composed in 1874 in memory of the writer Alessandro Manzoni, this monumental requiem is famous for its near-operatic scale: a “Dies irae” of devastating power, demanding solos and vast dynamic contrasts between contemplation and orchestral fury. The cast brings together four leading soloists — soprano Lise Davidsen, mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova, tenor Giorgio Berrugi and bass Insung Sim — carried by a large-scale orchestra and choir. The in-hall recording highlights the architecture of the work and the commitment of the performers, in the renowned acoustics of the Danish concert hall. For lovers of classical music and choral art, this roughly 90-minute full concert offers a broad, dramatic reading of one of the peaks of the 19th-century sacred repertoire, served by high-level musical forces.