The thoroughly Anglican wrote a in memory of a friend, a Catholic classics scholar. The work is immediately attractive and was recorded a number of times in the 20th century, but it is excellent to have this pitch-perfect new version beautifully engineered at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. 's conception of the text is not dark in the Mozartian manner but warm like the , of . Big polyphony is mostly restricted to the Offertory, and even the Confutatis maledictis dissolves into solos after its imposing opening. Arguably a bigger influence than is , for he breaks up the Sequence in the same essentially operatic way. 's Dies irae is not a "Day of Wrath" but a tense introduction, and much of this section is given over to solos that convey a strong sense of something personal. Sample liberally in the Sequence for an idea of the flavor of the performance. Conductor and the , with the clean yet warm , keep the music moving here as it shifts through a group of short movements. The soloists, with the divine leading a group of up-and-comers, are very strong and get the spirit of the work. This recording makes one want to hear one of 's nine largely forgotten operas, and anyone who thinks of as dull absolutely should hear it. ~ James Manheim