The peculiarity of this release by the Austrian ensemble Pandolfis Consort playing on period instruments is that Mozart’s “Requiem” is presented here in the version for string quartet made by his contemporary Peter Lichtenthal, therefore going not only without choir and orchestra, but also without vocal soloists. Everything is focused on the four voices of the strings, which creates a special intimacy and intensity. As the founder of the Pandolfis Consort, the violist Elzbieta Sajka-Bachler, suggests, this ingenious version, made by the composer at the time to popularize Mozart's music in Italy, has the character of chamber music and music making because “the small space brings the listeners closer together than a concert hall”. Tears, sorrow, pain, but also hope can be experienced here especially close.
