Choral Singing in Requiem Treat for Promenaders Londoners have had several oppor- tunities now to hear Mr. Carlo Maria Giulini's celebrated reading of Verdi's Requiem. Last night, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Verdi's birth, it was transported to the Proms; and it provided promenaders with chorat sing- ing of a quality :they are unlikely to hear many times in a season. Mr. Giulini produced from the Phil- harmonia Corus singing widely varied in colour: gerAle and soft-grained wbere necded, but of knife-edged intensity in the apocalyptic rnusic o? thle Dlies Irae, and aLvanys wonderfully flexible in expression and sure in ensemble and intonation. The all-English quartet of soloists was headed-in every sense-by Miss Amy Shuard. Some of her intonation was marginally imperfect, and the final Requiem aeternam was oddly mrisiter- preted, without much regard for Verdi's dynamic markings; but her impassioned account of the Liber. me, her ringing high notes and the amplitude of her phrasing did much more than compen- sate. Mims Anna Reynolds showed a mezzo- soprano voice almost comvamrble with Miss huaxd's for: dramatic poDtenii. ties, at least in its middle register; when more feeling for the natWral flow of phrases has deve(oped she wsii be a singer to be r ekoned with. Mr. Ric bard Lewis gave a~ musical, if restrained and theefore unexciting, reading of tibe tenor's mnusic., and Mr. David Wa.rd a resrAnt but slightly static account of the bass part. Drama rnther than devotion is, of course, the keynote of Mr. Giulni's direction: tempi are inclined towards extremes, but exaggeration is avoided (if sometimes narrowly, as in the Lacri- mosa), With the Philbarnxnia in exce- lent form it was, in all, an unoommonly excitig cvening, and a further justifica tion of the policy of infusing th cProms with fresh blood-not to say warm bloodl. Choral Singing in Requiem Treat for Promenaders