Beethoven: Missa Solemnis / Mozart: Coronation Mass

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis / Mozart: Coronation Mass

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis / Mozart: Coronation Mass
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CD Details

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Performer: Vienna Singverein
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: I. Kyrie - Assai sostenuto (Mit Andacht): Kyrie eleison
  2. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: I. Kyrie - Assai sostenuto (Mit Andacht): Christe eleison
  3. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: I. Kyrie - Assai sostenuto (Mit Andacht): Kyrie eleison
  4. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: II. Gloria - Allegro vivace: Gloria in excelsis Deo
  5. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: II. Gloria - Allegro vivace: Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis
  6. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: II. Gloria - Allegro vivace: Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
  7. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: II. Gloria - Allegro vivace: In gloria Dei Patris. Amen
  8. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: II. Gloria - Allegro vivace: Amen, Amen, in gloria Dei Patris. Quoniam - tu solus Sanctus
  9. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: III. Credo - Allegro ma non troppo: Credo in unum Deum
  10. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: III. Credo - Allegro ma non troppo: Et incarnatus est
  11. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: III. Credo - Allegro ma non troppo: Et ascendit in coelum
  12. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: III. Credo - Allegro ma non troppo: Et vitam venturi saeculi
  13. Missa solemnis In D Major Op. 123: III. Credo - Allegro ma non troppo: Amen, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen
Music CD 2
  1. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: IV. Sanctus - Adagio (Mit Andacht): Sanctus - Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus, Deus Sabaoth - Berlin PO; Karajan, H.v.
  2. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: IV. Sanctus - Adagio (Mit Andacht): Pleni sunt coeli et terra
  3. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: IV. Sanctus - Adagio (Mit Andacht): Praeludium
  4. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: IV. Sanctus - Adagio (Mit Andacht): Benedictus, qui venit in nomine Domini
  5. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: V. Agnus Dei: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi
  6. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: V. Agnus Dei - Adagio: Dona nobis pacem
  7. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: V. Agnus Dei - Adagio: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi
  8. Missa solemnis In D - Major Op. 123: V. Agnus Dei - Adagio: Presto
  9. Coronation Mass In C Major DV 317: Kyrie - Andante maestoso - Piu andante
  10. Coronation Mass In C Major DV 317: Gloria - Allegretto con spirito
  11. Coronation Mass In C Major DV 317: Credo - Allegro molto - Adagio - Tempo I
  12. Coronation Mass In C Major DV 317: Sanctus - Andante maestoso - Allegro assai
  13. Coronation Mass In C Major DV 317: Benedictus - Allegretto - Allegro assai
  14. Coronation Mass In C Major DV 317: Agnus Dei: Agnus Dei. Andante sostenuto
  15. Coronation Mass In C Major DV 317: Agnus Dei: Dona nobis pacem. Allegro con spirito

Music reviews of Beethoven: Missa Solemnis / Mozart: Coronation Mass

Music Review: Karajan's Missa Solemnis times five
Rating: 4 Stars

Karajan made a specialty of this great and difficult work, which he recorded no less than five times. I don't believe in duplicating reviews here at Amazon, but I am posting this one under each performance--they range from a live radio broadcast in 1959 from the Salzburg Festival to a digital recording from 1985 in Berlin. In general the sound improves as time goes on, and except for the last recording, the soloists are uniformaly world class.

Since Karajan's readings rank among the best ever made, I'd like to give a brief rundown of each:

1959 Salzburg (EMI): In many ways this is the dream recording. The orchestra is the Vienna Phil, the chorus the Vienna Singverein, Karajan's favorite--they appear in all his recordings. The solo quartet captures Leontyne Price in her prime--her glorious soprano is incomparable in this part. Christa Ludwig, Nicolai Gedda, and Nicola Zaccaria join Price in a passionate, involved performance that brings more excitement and commitment than any other. The big downside is the tubby mono sound--you are aware of listening to a gigantic work through your home radio. If you can adjust your ears and listen through the sound, as it were, this was obviously a great event.

1960 Philharmonia (Testament): This EMI commercial recording came out originally in mono, only later in muffled stereo. It's been cleaned up by Testament for reissue, but the chorus is still fairly murky and distant. Otherwise, this is a deeply satisfying performance, the second best of the five in my opinion. The solo quartet is marked by actually singing, not shouting, and the four voices blend beautifully, which only makes sense, because Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, and Gedda had sung together for years on EMI. They would go on to make a superlative Verdi Requiem under Giulini. The bass again is Nicola Zaccaria, another old hand at EMI but not quite up to the other three. Karajan's conducting lacks the fiery intensity of the live Salzburg performance from the year before. Eerything is relative, though. This is still a strong entry, commanding in every way.

1966 Berlin (DG): From here to the end all recordings are with the Berlin Phil. This one came out nose to nose with the famed Klemperer set from London (EMI), and on the whole Klemperer is superior, thanks to somewhat clearer sound and an unsurpassed chorus trained by Wilhelm Pitz. Karajan's quartet is once again stellar: Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, Fritz Wunderlich, and Walter Berry. Wunderlich was the greatest lyric tenor in Germany and sounds wonderful. I don't care for Janowitz's piping, hooty soprano, which sounds more like a woodwind instrument than a fully expressive voice, but I concede that I am in the minority. The sonics are a bit glaring, and they get ocngested in the massed passages with chorus and orchestra. DG may have improved the sound in the 1996 reissue on a bargain two-fer; I haven't heard it, although there's no doubt this recording is at times uncomfortably shrill.

1975 Berlin (EMI): Karajan has proceeded with at least one new Missa Solemnis per decade. This recording features another stellar quartet, with Janowitz held over from the DG set and sounding excactly the same. She is joined by Peter Schreier, Agnes Baltsa, and Jose Van Dam. All except Schreier were Karajan favorites at the time. They sing very well, even though one hears a noticeable drop from the earlier quartets. The recorded sound here is just as congested in tuttis as on the DG set. In general the performance shows no advance on earlier readings and in my opinion is the most negligible of the five.

1985 Berlin (DG) : For the first time one notices a leap forward in sound quality, thanks to digital multi-miking. From the outset there's more orchestral detail, cleaner separation of voices, and good highlighting of the vocal quartet. The engineers weren't stuck with a single microphone placement, which never could capture chorus, orchestra, and soloists satisfactorily. Unfortunately, when the big tuttis come in the Gloria, the chorus and orchestra become just as congested as before. This is due to Karajan's insistence on using a very large chorus; it always muddies when the music gets very loud. Over the years Karajan didn't drastically change his approach to the Missa Solemnis, and since this 1985 recording has the best sound, one wishes it could be recommended as the best document. It is badly let down, however, by the quartet, consisting of two unknown women--Lella Cuberli and Trudeliese Schmidt--who aren't exactly great discoveries, along with the light-voiced tenor Vinson Cole and a dry, aging Jose Van Dam.

With enough time and space, one could detail hundreds of differences between these performances. In 1985, for example, the Gloria shoots out at rocket speed compared to the other four performances. But this way madness lies. For me it's enough to know that all but the 1985 are great performances, the sound is about even between 1966 and 1975, with 1960 in serviceable stereo, while the live 1959 Salzburg must be counted one of those events that no one will ever forget who was fortunate enough to be present.

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