Customer Reviews

Haydn: Nelson Mass / Vivaldi: Gloria / Handel: Zadok the Priest

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very powerful performance of the Nelson Mass, and the soprano does a beautiful job. The acoustics inside the cathedral are good, and the CD booklet has lots of historical information and plenty of photos. If you're not familiar with Haydn's choral music, many of them have a powerful, thunderous tone very different from much of his instrumental pieces. If you like this mass, you will love the opening and finale of Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ. And, of course, the great oratorio, the Creation.

I love Vivaldi's Gloria, but the first movement of this performance of the Gloria, however, goes way too slow and feels so heavy. Buy this CD for the performance of the Nelson Mass and consider buying another performance of Vivaldi's Gloria.

This magnificent Haydn mass was recorded when period performance was still a glint in the eye of authenticists, a half-dozen years before Harnoncourt's original embarassment with Bach's Brandenburg concertos. David Willcocks was among a handful of conductors who exhibited temperament, moderation and drama to record the Haydn masses in the 1950s and 1960s in recordings that still have not been surpassed.

Haydn was a great old man, full of fun and humor, not above poking fun at himself, his employers and his society. But one thing he did not poke fun at was God and his relationship with the Almighty. While this mass is technically about Nelson's victory at the Nile, it is clear the driving force behind the drama was Father Superior.

For this reason, the ultra-dramatic, almost cinematic, approach used by Bernstein and Pinnock, while effective, is inappropriate. They overflow with drama but lack dignity. Christian faith is nowhere to be found, neither is self-denial in the face of glory.

Willcocks' singers are wonderful. I have some quibbles with the Latin pronunciation but his singers are miles ahead of the competitors including more recent recordings by Gardiner and Hickox.

The period performance crowd has generally done a nice job with Haydn but none project his temperament as well as Wilcocks, Simon Preston and George Guest, who together recorded all the great Haydn masses in a 10-disk set London 448518). Some of the better performances -- the Nelson, Harmony, Kettledrum and little organ masses, among others -- are in a London twofer you can buy for a very modest cost (ASIN: B0000041MA).

I was looking for a Nelson Mass, so a friend gave me this one. The soprano is good, but I sometimes find her voice a little bit waving. The bass is really a bariton with a dark voice.
The problem is that it's recorded in ADD format, so there's lot of noise.

If you're going to buy a Nelson Mass... better buy....
Haydn: Missa in Angustiis "Nelson Mass" - Te Deum / Lott, Watkinson, M. Davies, Wilson-Johnson; Pinnock

I really like another reviewer's comment that when it came to his liturgical music, Hayden did not mess around with the almighty, and this work, to my ear, stands up to even the greatest masses of Mozart, approaching (if not quite reaching) the heights of J. S. Bach's great masses.
This is the first recording of the Nelson mass I have audited with a critical ear, and although other reviewers have noted noisome extraneous sounds on the ADD recording, they bother me not.

If I have any reservations about the recording at all, it's the fact that it mixes works by Hayden and Vivaldi, and I prefer CDs with all material from one composer, although the two masses do go well toghether, in spite of the 80 years and the continent of Europe which separate the composers. If you can get this vintage recording at a good discount, snap it up.

Having been conducted by Sir David Willcocks several times, it is fun to listen to a recording he conducted in the 1960's! The singing, especially the blissful Janet Baker, is truly beautiful.

I belong to a choral group which will be performing this piece and the more I listened to this awesome piece the more I enjoy it.

Sherrill

The value of the cd depends on what you are expecting. If you expect reasonable good performances of 3 great choral works of the XVIII century with 3 great mainstream (ie not period)orchestras (London Symphony, ASMIF and what was later called English chamber orchestra) together with one of the most famous choirs in the world (King's college), look no further. You have to buy at least 3 CDs to find the mass, the gloria and the anthem. All of them are good, at least.
But if you want to find almost reference performances, I am sorry to tell you they are not here, at least in the three works.
Let's begin with Haydn. The title reason of this CD. What a wonderfull work the Nelson mass is ! Here presented with its original scoring for the first time. I love "HIP" performances so this may sound old fashioned sometimes but is so warm and sounds so beautifull that I am inclined to put it as referece without hesitation. "Period" approaches may be found elsewere but trust me, this excellent version remains at the top. If you want to have a great nelson and a t the same time you want to have those famous works (gloria, Zadok) or if you want to have simply a truly persuasive nelson, look no further.
Alas, Vivaldi and Handel are not so great. Yes, they are quite good performances on the whole, but if you are not so demanding.
The gloria is uneven.Some numbers are crisp, but not others (eg last alto solo, quite boring). The choir I feel does not project their voices in a touching way (as can do a modern baroque choir), sometimes sounds a bit plain, at least for my taste. Janet baker is not michael chance or another alto specialist in baroque singing but her artistry is beyond question: her refined singing has a class of its own.But ...what the hell is doing that awfull vibratoish soprano!!!!! For me, she would never be allowed to sing baroque repertoire !!!! that soprano is the reference of how NOT to sing Baroque (and oboe soloist is frankly old fashioned).
Handel begins with quite good speed, fluid enough. The final is majestic, as it should. But in the transition from the begginning to the end, opulent and powerfull as it shouls, the performance shows a bit four square, a bit slow. Surely can be better sang elsewere.
To sum up, Nelson mass can be readily recommended. For the other works, try before buying if you may live with this 2 old fashioned readings of these 2 beloved choral works.

This CD shows the pursuit of excellence from long ago. Not only are the choral sections precisely executed, but also the solos were wonderful. This work recorded over 40 years ago by Decca demonstrates the commitment to the highest standards of recording for the classical genre. I truly enjoyed this. The adherence to the score and yet mining the best it has to offer gives the listener insight into some of the best of Haydn's work.

Magnificent "drew tears to my eyes" Now to pass down the beauty to my Children...."wish me luck and thank you David Wilde Headfort 1968"