Janacek; Dvorak: Glagolitic Mass; Te Deum, Op. 103

Leos Janacek (Composer), Antonin Dvorak (Composer), Robert Shaw (Conductor), Marietta Simpson (Performer), Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (Orchestra), Norman MacKenzie (Performer), Christine Brewer (Performer), Karl Dent (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Marietta Simpson, Norman MacKenzie, Christine Brewer, Karl Dent
• Orchestra: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
• Conductor: Robert Shaw
• Composer: Leos Janacek, Antonin Dvorak
• Audio CD (May 27, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003CXZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,050 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy It For the Janacek, March 2, 2001

By 

Eugene G. Barnes (Dunn Loring, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Janacek; Dvorak: Glagolitic Mass; Te Deum, Op. 103 (Audio CD)

The Janacek gets five stars and takes up two-thirds of the CD. If you don't mind my characterizing the Dvorak as filler, I guess I could be excused for being a little disingenuous by giving the Te Deum only three stars and not factoring it into the above rating.

For those not familiar with his music, Janacek is a unique composer. His music is full-sounding but actually relatively sparse in content, relying on repetitions of thematic fragments to build up a mood. (I wonder how many of today's minimalists bow in the direction of this Moravian composer's grave every day.) Written late in life (1926; died 1928), the Glagolitic Mass is Janacek at his boldest and most self-assured.

Shaw's realization of the Mass is de facto definitive. The chorus is never allowed to lose sight of the larger structure of the work; its phrasing is carefully molded to enhance the cumulating of tension so important to this piece. By the end you are drained, as you should be. This is precisely the kind of choral music-making that has made Robert Shaw the kind of almost mythical colossus he is.

Not so, unfortunately, with the Dvorak filler. I've become convinced over the years that the Te Deum is one of Dvorak's greatest pieces of music (hailing from Dvorak's final, American period), but I have yet to find a good, powerful recording of it, including this one. But this tepid rendition, with its frustrating lack of commitment (especially from the orchestra) and its non-stimulating, non-animated, downright boring final two pages, can nevertheless serve as a placeholder until a better one comes along.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two great performances, August 28, 2007

By 

Samuel Stephens "aka "Hector"" (TN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Janacek; Dvorak: Glagolitic Mass; Te Deum, Op. 103 (Audio CD)

Janacek: This isn't quite up to the Chailly standards, as I see it...but nevertheless Robert Shaw does the work justice. The accents are a problem, but not terribly so. Shaw makes it feel like more of a "mainstream" work, such as Mozart's Requuiem. Don't let this frighten you: there's all the rugged glory here, but not necessarily the bite.

Dvorak: this Te Deum of Dvorak's a real good work. Not 'great', but definitely a fine work. The only problem is with the first movement: if you have watched Spongebob Squarepants and heard the theme song, it will be hard to not think of it when you listen to this. It's just one of those freak coincidences. I haven't heard any other performance of this work, but I certainly can't name a single complaint against this one: Good choral work, the right feel of Dvorak, and an overall jubilant sound.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glorious Glagolithic!, December 30, 2009

By 

Johann Sebastian Bach "culture vulture" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Janacek; Dvorak: Glagolitic Mass; Te Deum, Op. 103 (Audio CD)

Robert Shaw and his Atlanta Symphony Orchetra and Chorus have done it again with the present release! Leos Janacek's Glagolithic Mass is a sadly underperformed work , but the reasons are not hard to see - first it is sung in Czech and second,its writing for both the chorus and the orchestra make this a challenge for anyone willing to try it. Also unusual in this work are the inclusions of an orchestral prelude and postlude and an solo organ toccata(more on that later). As my opening exclamation says, Shaw and his forces make a most persuasive case for this work, going through the difficult, jazzy rhythms and demanding choral/orchestral writing as if is was second nature. They have been working so long together that they can do anything they choose and come out winners as in the present recording. The Janacek Mass has received other fine performances on CD, notably the Rattle/City of Birmingham and the Bernstein/New York Philharmonic.But the Rattle is let down in my opinion by his soloists especially his soprano who verges on screechiness and Bernstein is let down by the inferior singing of the Westminster Choir and their placement in the sound picture as if they were in another room. No such problems with Shaw and the Atlantans. All the forces involved - chorus, soloists and orchestra perform as if on fire, and the sense of discovery and enthusiasm comes through brilliantly. Last but not least is Norman Mackenzies' playing of the fiendishly difficult bravura organ solo near the end of the work - bravo! The organ is that of the First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and was dubbed into the performance which took place in Woodruff Symphony Hall. Fortunately the dubbing was done tastefully and there is to my ears no noticeable change in the acoustic of one venue vs.the other. It does raise the question though of why concert halls such as in Atlanta, New York etc. do not have pipe organs. One winds up needing them sooner or later so why not install them and put them to good use?

Back to my review. The Dvorak Te Deum is not the uninteresting bit of fluff that other reviewers have said it is - it certainly stands on its own and deserves to be heard, but the Janacek is the drawing card of this CD, and with the quality of the performances in question, this is a recording to savor time and time again. Enjoy!