Customer Reviews

Hummel: Missa Solemnis in C Major / Te Deum

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

 

 

At first I was skeptical of Hummel's Missa Solemnis as being bland and uncreative, but after listening I now regard it as one of my favorite compact discs. The Mass is one of the finest settings from this time period, and I would happily rank this work with mass settings by Mozart and Haydn.

The Mass is not only beautiful, but extremely orignial. Why this is a premiere recording, I cannot understand. The Te Deum is also a splendid setting of the text and I regard it as an equal to Haydn's. Sadly, this disc is only 57 minutes long, but it is worth every penny (and who could complain at such a cheap price?).

The soloists are stunning, and the choral work with the New Zealand Tower Voices is phenomenal. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra plays passionately and beautifully. I recommend this recording as absolutely essential in any choral collection, write next to the other Austrian masters of the time period.

I mainly bought this CD so I could compare Hummel's Missa Solemnis with Beethoven's. Just because Hummel is a bit obscure does not mean his music is less important. His Missa Solemnis is very bright, gay and full of life.
Hummel's choral music is a bit like Beethoven but not as passionate and serious.
I especially liked the 'Sanctus&Benecitus' movement lead by the angelic voice of Patricia Wright.
If your a little unsure of Johann Nepomuk Hummel then let me put it this way: "If you like Mozart's choral music, you'll like Hummel."

Keep your eyes open for a CD's of Beethoven's magnificant 'Missa Solemnis'. Together, they would make an excellend purchase

Too often Hummel has been compared unfavorably to Beehoven but here Hummel outstrips his once great rival with this magnificant mass. I find the Beehoven Missa Solemnis poor by comparison, full of tension, unbalanced and not worth remembering. No wonder Prince Nicholas II who comissioned both works praised this Hummel mass and expressed his disappointment at the Beehoven mass. I couldn't agree more. It dispells the myth that if written by one of the the great masters then it must be good and if written by a lesser known composer than it must be inferrior. I certainly prefer to listen to first grade works no matter who they are written by, rather than the 2nd or even 3rd grade works of the great masters.


It may surprise you that the revival of this magnificant mass was a real New Zealand effort. Rediscovered and published by New Zealand 18th Century music scholar, Alan Bagley, he was instrumental making this first ever recording a reality. It was recorded here in Wellington and many of us heard that something with Hummel was going on and waited eagerly for the recording. While we had great expectations, the quality of this mass and recording was a real surprise.

Stuart McLaren

Uwe Grodd ( http://www.uwe-grodd.com/ ) started a huge research proyect (about 1999) related with the composers ecclipsed by Beethoven's star. It is logic that Beethoven wasn't the only composer related with the transition from the clasic to the romantic music. This record is probably the more important achievement of Grodd's research. Hummel's music, so as Beethoven's, shows elements of both temps: classic and pre - romantic.

I'd like to give this cd more stars. The chorus was more than professional, truly singing at their highest level. And the instrumental support was very good, too. The problem, of course, is Hummel. He gave these good people absolutely nothing to work with. I'm not an expert in sacred music, but I'm pretty sure it is supposed to engender something like feelings of tenderness and/ or awe toward God. This just frustrated and irritated me. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Haydn were giants whose masses ring with God's majesty. Schubert, a lesser giant, to be sure, created masses which shine with subtle melodies that make us feel closer to God. Hummel can't come close. Confusing loudness with majesty, he composed, in this case, nothing more than a boring, bombastic mishmash of loud flourishes. It matterred not that the chorus was singing. They were singing another orchestral part. The Te Deum was not any better. Loud for no good reason. This orhestra and chorus deserve so much better. They are the equal to many the European groups which populate the Naxos label. I hope that in the future, Naxos gives them something a whole lot better to work with.