Alan Lynn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>As a horn player, since there are no horn parts, my preferences would
>be first of all quality of sound and performance above anything involving
>performers or production company.  I just want a high quality recording
>offering great clarity of sound and an empassioned performance.

first, I have to tell you that you won't find a "quality performance"
without caring to performers.  IMHO, they are the most important in any
classical music performance.  Said that, I will recommend some recordings
that I used in a Mozart's Requiem lecture I did last weekend in a
university campus.  I choose those recordings based on sound and artistic
quality (according to my own vision of the subject and my knowledge of the
55 recordings I own).  The recording I used to explain the most important
sections of the Requiem was a Hanssler CD conducted by Helmuth Rilling.
It was recorded in 1991 and it uses the Robert Levin completion.  This
recording is a trully wonderful experience.  For the standard Sussmayr
edition, I used two HIP recordings: the 1996 recording made by Philippe
Herreweghe on Harmonia Mundi and a 1989 conducted by Ton Koopman on
Erato.  You can search the MCML archives to see my comments on these
two recordings.  For a romantic vision of this fantastic work, many
will recommend Bohm's reading on DGG.  I have bought this recently and I
do find some qualities in this recording (being Bohm one of my favorite
conductors), but I prefer Bernstein in the same label (more grandious,
more incisive, more dramatic, although less solemn - Bernstein uses the
Franz Beyer ed.).

Luis Afonso