Customer Reviews

Mozart: Vespers K. 321 & 339/Ave Verum Corpus; King's College Choir, Cambridge; Hilliard Ensemble

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

 

 

Mozart composed the two Vesper Services ('Vesperae de Dominica' K321 and 'Vesperae solennes de confessore'K339) in 1779 and 1780 for performances in the Salzburg cathedral and so it is very fitting that this lovely recording is performed in the cathedral-like setting of the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge. These works were written as occasional pieces and have never reached the popularity of Mozart's Masses or Requiem but they have unusually beautiful passages.

Some listeners may quibble with the treble parts of the chorus being sung by young boys but it was just such an arrangement that was used in Mozart's time and, for this listener, maintains the purity of tone that complements these texts and ensemble sounds. The orchestras include the Hilliard Ensemble and the Cambridge Classical Players so the full spectrum of ancient instruments reinforced with contemporary forms adds richness yet serves an authentic sound. The soloists are excellent with special attention to Lynne Dawson, the sole female voice here. Her soprano is clear and pliant and very adept in recreating the 'Mozart purity of sound' so many better known singers strive to find. Her rendering of the lovely 'Laudate Dominum' in K339 is as unfettered and well embellished as befitting the overall concept of this work.

Can there ever be enough recordings of one of Mozart's 'Ave verum corpus'? One of the single most touching and beautiful works Mozart ever composed, it is here given that wonderful straight-forward performance that allows the work to make us remember that it was one of the composer's farewell compositions (created six months before his death in 1791).

The acoustics of the Chapel where this recording was created in 1987 reflect the high-ceiling mix so treasured by purists. It may not be the clearest of sounds but the ambience it lends these small works is complementary. Conductor Stephen Cleobury has rehearsed and performed these works to perfection. Grady Harp, June 05

The first 2 pieces, Vesperae de Dominica and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, were composed when Mozart was in his early twenties (which might sound young had he not written his first sacred piece when he was ten), and are lovely, and the 3rd work, the 3 minute luminous, solemn Ave Verum Corpus, which was one of Mozart's last compositions, are here ably performed by The Hilliard Ensemble, which consists of Lynne Dawson, soprano / David James, alto / Rogers Covey-Crump, tenor / Paul Hillier, bass, with the Cambridge Classical Players (who use period instruments) led by Stephen Cleobury.

It is unfortunate that the sound is fuzzy, as if one had stuffed the speakers with cardboard; I don't mind the crackles of age, but loathe distortion due either to bad production or manufacturing. Recorded in the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge in December, 1987, the use of period instruments perhaps adds to the lack of definition...the violin in the Beatus vir of the Vesperae de Dominica for instance, is barely audible. The booklet insert contains the libretto and liner notes on the compositions, and total playing time is 57'54.

KINGS COLLEGE SINGERS: YOU GOTTA' LOVE 'EM!!!!

Mozart wrote his first piece of church music in 1766, when he was 10 years old, and altogether he composed over 50 vocal works for ecclesiastical use. The two Vespers herein recorded date from 1779 and 1780 respectively, and were probably composed for performance in the cathedral in Salzburg. Both Vespers are scored for SATB soloists and chorus, strings, trumpets,trombones, timpani and organ. and a bassoon doubling the string basses.

The 'Vesperae de Dominca' begin with a vigorous setting in C of Psalm 110, the 4 solo voices emerging soon after it begins. The other 5 movements include words from Psalm 111, Psalm 112,Psalm 113, and Psalm 117.

The 'Vesperae solennes de confessore' begins with a movement (Dixit Dominus) that has the spirit of a symphonic lst movement. The solo quartet does not appear until the 'Gloria'.One of the most beautiful movements of this Vesper is the 'Laudate Dominum' sung magnificently on this disc by Lynne Dawson (soprano),

The motet 'Ave Verum Corpus' is a familiar Mozart work and it is extraordinarily poignant and lovely. One of the great things about the music of Mozart is that it never becomes tedious no matter how many times you hear it.

As to the performance on this CD. It would be 5 stars or more if it were not for the somewhat 'poor' quality of the soloists (except for Lynne Dawson). They are: Lynne Dawson(soprano)-David James (alto)-Roger Covey Crump (tenor) amd Paul Hillier (bass). David James ,in my opinion, has a most annoying countertenor voice. It has no sonority, very little richness of sound, and not too much volume. Fortunately, he did not have much solo work on this disc. As for Covey-Crump, he is adequate, but if you put his voice next to Mark Padmore or Ian Bostridge or John Mark Ainsley, they are just not in the same league. Paul Hillier has sounded a lot better than he sounded on this disc.
However, Dawson had the most solo work and was nigh unto perfect; great sound, great diction and great emotional investment.

The King's College Choir, with its wonderful sound, especially with those crystal-clear boy sopranos was just so enjoyable, A great recording all in all

The quality of the recording is poor. The sound balance is very uneven. Sometimes you can hear the soloists, sometimes not. Sometimes the sound of one particular choral part (for example, the tenors) is 'way louder than the rest of the voices when the whole ensemble is singing).

I pretty much agree 100% with the first review, except maybe I'm not sharp enough to detect any lack of recording quality.

I was too busy being enthralled with the music itself. Tracks 1 & 3 are my favorites.

As an aside, I am a huge Mozart fan; I have the whole collected works on Brilliant Classics, and love it. This recording is better than the one on Brilliant Classics.

For my copy of this, I downloaded it from iTunes. If I were to do it again, I would buy the CD from Amazon. I miss being able to read the jacket, and having a reliable back-up copy for my money.

Bottom Line: If you like classical music, and you like choral music, go for this. It isn't too churchy, like Bach can be sometimes.

As others said, Ave Verum Corpus is good, but there are many many recordings of this, and not many at all of the Vespers.

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, is an absolutely fabulous one. I have long been a fan of the choir for their almost heavenly boy trebles and altos and their rich tenors and basses. But unfortunately, this album is rather mediocre in quality when compared to their other recordings. A lot of the blame goes to EMI, as the recorded sound here is downright awful. But King's College isn't at their best either; the boy trebles don't quite sound like angels here. The soloists are certainly not top notch either. Cleobury doesn't have many interesting things to say, which is surprising for a conductor who requires rapt attention in many of his other efforts. While this album may be worth buying, I think it is vastly inferior when compared to their other authentic attempts, especailly those with the amazing Academy of Ancient Music. Below are some of the albums I would recommend instead of this one:

Vivaldi: Gloria in D (RV589), Dixit Dominus in D (RV594), and Magnificat in G Minor (RV610)
Best Loved Hymns
Handel - Coronation Anthems / Gritton, Blaze, M. George, Choir of King's College Cambridge, AAM, Cleobury
Handel's Messiah
Bach - Magnificat / Gritton · Chance · Bostridge · George · AAM · The Choir of Kings College Cambridge · Cleobury