Giuseppe Verdi: Messa Da Requiem: (Arr. Joachim Linckelmann): Chœur Mixte et Ensemble

Verdi's Requiem is one of those works that almost every choir would like to have sung (at least) once. This arrangement for chamber orchestra means that smaller choirs and choirs with more limited space or financial means also now have the opportunity of performing this popular work.  The scoring, with seven different wind and brass instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, and trombone) plus strings, timpani and bass drum, guarantees a wide dynamic range and a nuanced sonority. The four offstage trumpet parts can be played either as in the original, reduced to two trumpets, or even omitted. The relevant passages in the Tuba mirum also contain ossia passages for the orchestral brass, so that they can play their parts in performance without the need for offstage trumpets. Michael Betzner-Brandt’s successful arrangement of the Requiem (Carus 27.303/50) radically reduces the scoring to five instrumentalists and transfers the work to a different sonority, but in the arrangement by Joachim Linckelmann the symphonic character is retained. All the vocal parts (soloists and chorus) are identical to the original version, so the vocal score, vocal score XL, and chorus scores of the existing Carus edition can be used by the chorus.