Beethoven - Missa Solemnis / Margiono, Robbin, Kendall, Miles, Gardiner

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
John Eliot Gardiner's interpretation of the Missa Solemnis stands as one of the crowning accomplishments of his career and one of the most impressive achievements of the period-instrument movement. The concept is grand and powerful, lively though not unduly brisk. The execution is simply electrifying: Gardiner has the orchestra on the edge of their seats, the chorus going all-out, and sparks flying everywhere. Excellent singing from the soloists and a vivid recording complete the triumph, and it's all on a single disc. --Ted Libbey

Beethoven - Missa Solemnis / Margiono, Robbin, Kendall, Miles, Gardiner, Music, Ludwig van Beethoven, John Eliot Gardiner, Charlotte Margiono, Catherine Robbin, The English Baroque Soloists, The Monteverdi Choir, William Kendall, Alastair Miles, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Mass

Beethoven - Missa Solemnis / Margiono * Robbin * Kendall * Miles * EBS * Gardiner
Average customer rating:

Exquisite!

Hairs on End

Wonderful Performance, Problematic Engineering

Inspiring

Bland, dry, and uninspired

Beethoven - Missa Solemnis / Margiono * Robbin * Kendall * Miles * EBS * Gardiner
Ludwig van Beethoven , John Eliot Gardiner , Charlotte Margiono , Catherine Robbin , The English Baroque Soloists , The Monteverdi Choir , William Kendall , and Alastair Miles
Manufacturer: Archiv Produktion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000057DP
Release Date: 1991-02-08

Tracks:

Missa Solemnis: Kyrie - Assai sostenuto (Mit Andacht)
Missa Solemnis: Gloria (Allegro vivace)
Missa Solemnis: Credo (Allegro ma non troppo)
Missa Solemnis: Sanctus - Adagio (Mit Andacht)
Missa Solemnis: Agnus Dei - Adagio

Amazon.com essential recording

John Eliot Gardiner's interpretation of the Missa Solemnis stands as one of the crowning accomplishments of his career and one of the most impressive achievements of the period-instrument movement. The concept is grand and powerful, lively though not unduly brisk. The execution is simply electrifying: Gardiner has the orchestra on the edge of their seats, the chorus going all-out, and sparks flying everywhere. Excellent singing from the soloists and a vivid recording complete the triumph, and it's all on a single disc. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Exquisite!.......2007-02-17

I'm not typically a big period instruments fan, but this recording was fabulous. With the singing and excitement at such a high level, I really didn't even notice the period instrumentation.

I have not listened to all of the other versions, so I have no basis for comparisons, but I have a hard time believing that ANYONE would be disappointed with this recording. This is far superior to the recording I used to own of this piece (Robert Shaw, maybe?). Now, I can truly see what all of the fuss is about regarding this piece!

Hairs on End.......2007-02-12

When I was in college I had the incredible experience of singing in the chorus for the Beethoven 9th with Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewanthaus. I floated on air for days after the performance. During rehearsal, Maestro Masur gave a talk about his thoughts on the 9th in relation to the Missa. He said that the Missa was Beethoven arguing with God with that argument being be resolved in the 9th. From a musical, but not textual standpoint, I could see his point of view.

Gardiner seems to subscribe to this viewpoint: he brings out the fury of the music in a way that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. The playing is intense and precise. The clarity of textures adds to the drama. Gardiner doesn't hold anything back. And, contrary to some opinions here, the playing is extremely musical. From my standpoint this is one of the most breathtaking recordings I've ever heard. It is also far superior to the Karajan snooze-fest.

Wonderful Performance, Problematic Engineering.......2006-05-21

Gardiner's is a performance that eschews self-conscious, often grandiose attempts at "profundity" (unlike the Levine, for instance), and instead brings out the cosmic surge and dynamism that is hard wired into this music, but so often buried beneath layers of "solemnity". Fifteen years after I first heard it, it remains my reference for the score, alongside George Szell's similarly dynamic and bracing live performance with the Cleveland Orchestra (only available, I believe, as part of a 6 CD set from the orchestra). There are other ways to play the work, and I own quite a few of those as well; but the Gardiner approach strikes me as a revelation.

If there's a problem with the Gardiner, it's the engineering. This is one of the ugliest-sounding orchestral recordings that I have ever heard - and that's saying a lot. It sounds as if the engineer has employed as many microphones as Beethoven did instruments and voices. Heard through an audiophile system, there is no central sonic image whatsoever, no sense of the music coming alive within the expanse of the listening area. The overall sound is sterile, cold, and virtually un-listenable on revealing audio systems that tend at all towards brightness. As much as I love this performance, it's remains for me a headphones-only affair.

Inspiring.......2006-05-09

This to me is very moving music and I would not describe myself as a religious person but then I don't have to be to admire great music. The orchestra and the choir play and sing with great passion and precision. John Eliot Gardiner adopts faster speeds than normal but still manages to allow his forces the time to articulate their parts. The soloist blend so well together and for me this disc is a must. I have heard a number of the other versions of this music noted in previous reviews but for me this is the version all other must now be judged by.

Bland, dry, and uninspired.......2006-02-03

This review will undoubtedly offend the period-instrument crowd. After hearing Robert Shaw's recording, I thought surely it was impossible to have less inspired recording of this piece, unless, of course, your inspiration is to make music that is "correct" instead of music that is good.

Yes, the playing and singing is always accurate and precise, but is that what makes a performance great? Listen to Karajan's recording and you will hear mistakes all over, but you don't care because you are so caught up in the energy and beauty of the performance that you do not care.

The Credo is perhaps the worst movement. Gardiner chooses a ridiculously fast tempo that makes it sound like a drinking song, not a proclamation of faith.

Gardiner being the ultimate literalist chooses not to bring in the chorus at "Pleni sunt coeli." The only other recording I know of is an old LP of Klemperer which I do not think has been released on CD. Though that is what the score says, it does not make musical sense at all, which is why most conductors opt to introduce the chorus there.

By the way, if JEG was so concerned about recreating the "authentic" (whatever that means) sound that Beethoven would have heard, why did he choose to have the singers use ecclesiastical Latin. Would Viennese Latin not be much more appropriate? Just a thought.

If like dull, uninspired recordings of masterpieces, then this is the disc for you. If like me you prefer not to have the life sucked out of music, then stay away from this CD.

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