By BERNARD HOLLAND [NY Times, 13 March 2006]

Requiems operate on one side of the grave or the other. Some celebrate arrival in another world. Others depict the difficulties in getting there. The deceased of Fauré's Requiem, for example, are already among the angels, singing sweetly, softly and almost with a sigh of relief. The Verdi Requiem, on the other hand, lingers this side of life and looks reluctantly over the brink.