Franz Xaver Süssmayr’s completion of Mozart’s Requiem is well known, but how many know that Süssmayr wrote a Requiem of his own? In fact he was one of the first composers to pen a formal Requiem in German. The coupling of the elder’s masterpiece and his disciple’s rarity is unique. These works could have no better advocate than “America’s premiere college choir”, that of St. Olaf University in Minnesota. Under the direction of their distinguished conductor Dr. Anton Armstrong, the St. Olaf Choir is joined by a strong line-up of soloists and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for an authoritative account of the Süssmayr, whilst Andreas Delfs (making his second appearance on Avie following an acclaimed Hansel & Gretel with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra – AV 0050) conducts a magisterial version of the Mozart. The Hybrid SACD accentuates all the beauty and depth of these commanding choral performances.