Beethoven: Missa Solemnis [Import]

Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), John Eliot Gardiner (Conductor), English Baroque Soloists (Orchestra), Charlotte Margiono (Performer), Catherine Robbin (Performer), Monteverdi Choir (Performer), William Kendall (Performer), Alastair Miles (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Charlotte Margiono, Catherine Robbin, Monteverdi Choir, William Kendall, Alastair Miles
• Orchestra: English Baroque Soloists
• Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (February 8, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Archiv
• ASIN: B0000057DP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,007 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #68 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Baroque Dance Suites
  • #97 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Masses

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big complex chest pounding late Beethoven..., March 21, 2004

By 

ewomack "ewomack" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Missa Solemnis (Audio CD)

This piece and this recording are simply astounding. It's big, heavy, sweaty, pining Beethoven with the added bonus of complexity. Not that this is a bad thing, but this piece is paticularly hard to get one's musical mind around, which probably explains why it's not as popular as some of his archetypal symphonies (5th, 6th, 9th). Unlike some of Beethoven's more overtly thematic work, this one needs to sink in slowly and settle in a comfortable spot in the psyche until it unleashes it's full spectrum of power, beauty, and richness.

Part of the issue is that the piece was written over a number of years (1819-1823); enough years for Beethoven to develop in substantial ways. Consequently, the earlier movements have a different character than the later ones. But wait there's more: Beethoven also originally conceived this project (at least, according to a few sources) as a more traditional religious piece - he apparentely studied church music history with a vengeance, and this study manifests itself throughout the Mass. The goals apparently changed through the years, since the Kyrie and the Gloria have a more - relatively - traditional, classical feel to them, and the later movements are more moody and romantic (contrast the Gloria to the Sanctus and the differences stick out like escargot in a burger joint).

Partly for the reasons above, and partly due to the length of each individual section (the Kyrie is the shortest at just under 9 minutes, and the Credo is the longest at just over 17 minutes) this piece seems best ingested and approached one section at a time, rather than as one big lump sum total. This way the distinctiveness of each part is emphasized, and the listener is not lost in the progression (not always is there a clear indication that a movement has ended, and often I find myself - while listening casually - wondering if I'm in the Gloria or the Sanctus, or the Agnus Dei - the Credo stands out the most due to the very demonstrative marching and pounding theme that runs through it, and the singing of "Credo Credo" is the most sing-along phrase of the entire work - I sometimes catch myself belting out a "Credo Credo" when I least expect or want it to happen).

Another FAQ about the Missa Solemnis (or "Solemn Mass" or "Mass in D") is it's utilty: did Beethoven write it for religious or secular reasons (or: is it more like Brahm's Requiem or more like Bach's Passions)? It's one of those fascinating, corpus callosum splitting questions that provides much stimulus without much resolution. It doesn't appear that Beethoven was a practicing Christian in the traditional 18th century sense (i.e., he didn't go to mass regularly), but he has been quoted as saying that he wanted this Mass to incite religious feelings in the audience. But "religious" is only a somewhat kind of loaded and relative term. The other big spear of contention is the Credo itself: does Beethoven run through the major Catholic creeds in record time out of respect or disrespect? There are salient arguments on both sides of all these issues, and since Beethoven doesn't have too much to say about it these days, we're left with semingly nullifying arguments.

Religious or not, it's an amazing work that takes work to appreciate. This work pays off in droves and droves and piles of droves. You'll be drowning in droves. The Kyrie's harmonizations (how many voices resolve to a single voice that finishes the phrase) are astounding; the beginning of the Sanctus has to be up there with some of the most beautiful and ethereal of Beethoven's sounds; the Agnus Dei is one of those great musical finishes that is even more appreciable once the entire is grasped. These are just a paltry few of the highlights of the Mass.

This CD is arguably one of Sir John Eliot Gardiner's (don't forget the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque soloists) greatest achievements. Any Beethoven fan will jump in and happily drown in the sonorous splendor that is this disc. Excuse me while I dive...

84 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not as good as it gets., December 23, 1999

By 

J. Luis Juarez Echenique "pepechenique" (Mexico City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Missa Solemnis (Audio CD)

The GRAMOPHONE went over the board to praise this recording giving it the Record of the Year Award. Well, we all know the English love each other... Sir John's performance is rather martial, certainly well rehearsed and very well played, but it just lacks the ultimate in humanity to make it really moving. The Missa Solemnis has been lucky lately. Nikolaus Harnoncourt's recording in TELDEC is even more poignant and moving than Gardiner's, but played with modern instruments. James Levine surprised everyone with his extraordinary live Salzburg recording, this is not yet another glossy DG affair, but a serious, deeply felt reading. But best of all, another live recording, comes from Harmonia Mundi. Philippe Herreweghe is one of the most spiritual and interesting conductors of our Time, raised in Bach and in Renaissance music, he has an extraordinary feeling for choral works, and his loving, enormous performance, raises like a great Cathedral to the skies. This is by far the most beautiful and moving Missa Solemnis ever recorded.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best of the period performances, October 9, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Missa Solemnis (Audio CD)

I agree with those who find this one of Gardiner's more convincing recordings, and one of his most influential outside the Baroque period. It was startling when it first came out to find that the Missa Solemnis could take only 71 min. instead of the usual 79 min. (Klemperer) or 83 min. (Karajan on EMI). Now the slower traditional tempos can sound a bit loggy.

Critical reaction, especially in the UK, was wildly enthusiastic on the musical side, and The Gramophne bestowed honors. In retrospect, Gardiner's driving pace and clipped rhythms exchanged eloquence for dynamism, reverence for immediate impact. But that has been his pattern in Bach, too, so if you want period-style trimness and a complete lack of traditional spiritual grandeur, this recording is better sung than the equally fast Missa Solemnis from Zinman (Arte Nova). Gardiner's choir is expert and gives a nice clarity to both words and notes. The solo quartet is surprisingly good given that it contains no stars, but one should be warned that the recording is screechy and harsh in climaxes.

P.S. -- I should steer listeners toward a far more inspired HIP version of the Missa Solemnis under Philippe Herreweghe, a recording I was unaware of when writing this review.