My own fave rave Verdi Requiem is the old Reiner/Price lp, available in various pressings and, I'm sure, on cd, too. I feel that , maybe not uniquely among all the various recorded interpretations, but powerfully, Reiner approaches the Requiem as if it were a serious piece of German religious music. That it is, in fact, a piece of high Italian secular theatricality means that this may be a misrepresentation of the true heart of the piece, but to my ear it raises
Verdi's sometimes beautiful, sometimes coarse outburst to a new level of seriousness. Reiner, of course, can't suppress Leontyne Price's pure vocality to get a little subtlety out of her, but then no available recording of which I am aware (I don't know all that many) has an altogether satisfactory set of soloists so any version will be something of a compromise in some respect.
The original Soria pressing is maybe better than the Decca/London pressing but the sound has always been excellent and cd reissues may be just as successful.
In any case, it's a neat piece of music and about the only Verdi I really enjoy.
