Beethoven's Mass in D, 'Missa Solemnis'
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
Gramophone Choice
Charlotte Margiono (sop) Catherine Robbin (mez) William Kendall (ten) Alastair Miles (bass) Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists / Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Archiv 429 779-2AH (72' · DDD · T/t) Buy from Amazon
The Missa solemnis is one of the supreme masterpieces of the 19th century, but attempts to record a genuinely great performance have over many years run into difficulties. Usually the greatness itself is flawed, perhaps in the quality of the solo singers or in passages where the conductor’s approach is too idiosyncratic or momentarily not up to the challenge of Beethoven’s inspiration. The strain on the choir, especially its sopranos, is notorious; similarly the technical problems of balance by producer and engineers. This performance mixes discipline and spontaneous creativity; the rhythms are magically alive and the intricate texture of sound is made wonderfully clear. The great fugues of the Gloria and Credo achieve their proper Dionysiac sense of exalted liberation. Gardiner uses a choir of 36 and an orchestra of 60 playing on period instruments, aiming at a ‘leaner and fitter’ sound. The exceptional clarity of his smaller body of singers and players, their meticulous responsiveness to direction and concentrated attention to detail is impressive; yet you’re aware of it as a performance. Sometimes, as in the first sounding of drums and trumpets signifying war, Gardiner’s additional intensity brings a real gain.
Additional Recommendations
Eva Mei (sop) Marjana Lipovšek (contr) Anthony Rolfe Johnson (ten) Robert Holl (bass) Arnold Schoenberg Choir; Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Teldec 9031 74884-2 (81‘ · DDD · T/t) Recorded live 1992. Buy from Amazon
There are many marvellous performances in the catalogue of Beethoven’s great Mass. Gardiner catches the greatness, rises to it with his uncanny freshness of perception, and secures a performance virtually without fault. Levine (DG), with conventional forces, presents a large-scale performance, not universally liked, but which impresses you almost unequivocally on every hearing. Harnoncourt is very different from either of the others, but brings at least equally the stamp of devotion and high attainment. Choir and orchestra achieve wonderful precision and clarity of articulation; they’re sensitive to the needs of shading, to the ever-shifting balance of the parts, and to the purpose of cross-rhythms which at first may look like anarchy.
The soloists, who all meet their immense individual challenges, work intelligently as a quartet. It might be good simply to stop there and say, ‘Enjoy it’. But once comparisons start, such simplicity begins to melt. Gardiner’s performance is recorded more brightly and sharply. Returning to Harnoncourt after listening to that for a few minutes you feel a relative remoteness of contact with the sound. Moving then to Levine, there’s again a more immediate presence in the sound. Yet in this three-way comparison Harnoncourt emerges as a kind of halfway-house between Gardiner and Levine, and not quite as colourful as either. You might opt for Gardiner because his performance is confined to a single disc. Yet, listening again to the Credo, there’s something almost military in the way his people march along, and, as Harnoncourt stresses, the whole Mass is above all ‘an appeal for peace’. This is a performance of great integrity: that is, it’s a complete, consistent whole, and all its parts are sound.
Studer; Norman; Domingo; Moll; Leipzig Radio Chorus; Swedish Radio Choir; VPO / Levine
DG 435 770-2GH2 (83’ · DDD) Buy from Amazon
A truly festive performance in memory of Karajan, recorded at the Salzburg Festival. This is grand, majestic Beethoven that’s mighty impressive and deeply moving.
Orgonášová; Larsson; Trost; Selig; Swiss Chamber Choir; Zürich Tonhalle Orch / Zinman
Arte Nova 74321 87074-2 (66’ · DDD) Buy from Amazon
A Missa solemnis for the 21st century – the lessons of the period-instrument movement have been well and truly absorbed into this thrillingly vital and low-calorie performance.
Mannion; Remmert; Taylor; Hauptmann; Lap Chapelle Royale; Collegium Vocale; Orchestre des Champs-Elysées / Herreweghe
Harmonia Mundi HMG50 1557 (77’ · DDD) Buy from Amazon
Another successful period-instrument version, recorded live, that captures the questing spirituality at the heart of this great Mass. Four light-voiced, young soloists add to the performance’s considerable appeal.
Milanov; Thorborg; Pataky; Moscona; BBC Choral Society; BBC SO / Toscanini
BBC Legends mono BBCL4016-2 (145' · ADD) Recorded live 1939. Buy from Amazon
This is an absolute triumph and utterly gripping. The transfer eschews excessive de-hissing for a quiet sea of surface noise that soon ceases to matter.
