Five requiems to nearly rival Verdi’s

Many think Verdi’s “Requiem” is the best setting. It’s the one that Gustavo Dudamel will conduct this week at the Hollywood Bowl.

But with about 2,000 requiems in existence, it’s a bit of a task to say definitively that Verdi’s is tops. To get you started on the journey, here are five that run, at the very least, close behind.

Mozart

“Requiem in D minor,” K. 626, 1793

Immortalized in the film “Amadeus,” this piece wasn’t finished before Mozart died, leaving musicologists over the years the delicious task of finishing it. Several versions exist.

Listen to this track: “Recordare”

Berlioz

“Grand Messe des Morts,” Op. 5, 1837

Written to commemorate the fallen soldiers from the rebellion of 1830, this mammoth piece is orchestrated using the standard Berlioz formula of one part mind-blowing creativity and one part crazy.

Listen to this track: “Tuba Mirum”

STORY: Hollywood Bowl to up the intensity with Verdi’s ‘Requiem’

Brahms

“Ein Deutsches Requiem,” 1869

The one that is not like the others. Brahms jettisoned the traditional Latin text for nondogmatic passages he selected from the German Luther Bible. It concentrates on the living rather than the dead.

Listen to this track: “Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras”

Britten

“War Requiem,” Op. 66, 1962

Britten, a pacifist, was commissioned to write this piece for the consecration of Coventry Cathedral, which along with most of the city was destroyed by wartime bombing. The traditional mass movements are interwoven with nine poems about war.

Listen to this track: “Tuba Mirum”

Ligeti

“Requiem” 1965

Ligeti chooses to set only the first half of the standard requiem movements — the ones that deal with the wrath of God on Judgment Day. For him, there is no peace. No reward for a life well lived. Just sadness.

Listen to this track: “Lacrimosa”

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