Münchner Philharmoniker & Sergiu Celibidache
Sergiu Celibidache was an iconic but quite headstrong and eccentric conductor. He did just about every piece of music at half tempo and refused to do recordings - he considered that sacrilege. So all his recordings are live recordings (quite against his will), which, incidentally, were only released after his death.
This version lasts a whopping 1:07!
The London Classical Players, Schütz Choir of London & Sir Roger Norrington
Norrington is pretty much the British pioneer of historical performance practice. After Mozart's death, his Requiem was completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr, and that version is the most common. However, Norrington chose a different one, that of Duncan Druce: he made a new score in 1984, and added a movement (an Amen after the Lacrimosa). That fugue is based on a sketch by Mozart that one is not sure was intended for the requiem.
This version lasts 52'.
Le Concert des Nations & Jordi Savall
An icon in the world of Early Music, that's Jordi Savall. With this recording, he tries to capture the spirit of Mozart as perfectly as possible: "It is highly unlikely that a second-rate composer such as Süssmayr, who had never written anything worthy of note, would have been capable of finishing the Lacrimosa and composing the Sanctus, the Benedictus and the Agnus Dei entirely on his own. However, we shall never know what access Süssmayr had to the rough drafts, or whether he heard Mozart himself playthem – which would have enabled him to memorise them to a large extent."
This version lasts 46'.
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