Haydn - Great Organ Mass · St. Cecilia Mass · Missa Sancti Nicolai · Missa Brevis / Nelson · Kirkby · Watkinson · Hill · Thomas · AAM · Hogwood

Christopher Hogwood (Artist), Emma Kirkby (Artist), Judith Nelson (Artist), The Academy of Ancient Music (Artist), Carolyn Watkinson (Artist), Martyn Hill (Artist), David Thomas (Artist), Oxford Christ Church Cathedral Choir (Performer), Joseph Haydn (Composer), Simon Preston (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Oxford Christ Church Cathedral Choir
• Conductor: Simon Preston
• Composer: Joseph Haydn
• Audio CD (October 14, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0000042HO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,748 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #38 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Masses

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, but watch your eardrums..., February 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Haydn - Great Organ Mass · St. Cecilia Mass · Missa Sancti Nicolai · Missa Brevis / Nelson · Kirkby · Watkinson · Hill · Thomas · AAM · Hogwood (Audio CD)

This is a light-hearted and crisp performance of these pieces. Granted this music is not terribly complicated; it often seems, if not predictable, then instantly familiar and occasionally schmaltzy. We can probably forgive Haydn this, as he wrote some of these pieces when he was only 12! The soloists are smooth and not pushy and the choir's diction and timing are razor sharp. They positively bounce and soar through the music, and this is great stuff to crank up on your car stereo (watch your speed though, as you are bound to get carried away [this is the voice of experience talking]).

There are a few reasons why I can't give this recording 5 stars. For some unnecessary reason the Kyrie in the Grosse Orgelmesse moves at the speed of treacle. Perhaps it is slow so as to counteract the almost manic pace of other pieces, but I honestly thought my CD player had something wrong with it. This, however, is a personal quibble of mine and if you've never heard anther recording of this music, this one'll probably not annoy you.

My other quarrel is with the balance within the choir and between the choir and orchestra. At times, you can hardly distinguish the singers from the players; everything sounds pleasant, but indistinct. Then, out of nowhere, the trebels erupt, over-power every other voice, and all you can hear are the soprano line, violins and timpani. I suppose this is to be expected in a choir with 16 trebels and 12 everyone elses, but this choir is perfectly capable of sounding balanced both within itself and with the orchestra, as it does on much of this recording. My eardrums and my speakers are not happy with these intermittent attacks. All this aside, I do still recommend this CD. I hope it provides you hours of listening pleasure (and not any speeding tickets).