Mozart - Great Mass in C minor / McNair · Montague · Rolfe Johnson · Hauptmann · Gardiner

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
John Eliot Gardiner conducts Mozart's Great Mass with the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists. Or rather, what exists of the work: Mozart had imagined a work so ambitious it could never have been completed. What we do have--thanks partly to reconstruction by the conductor of this recording--is one of Mozart's most idiosyncratic works, rich in contrasts between the past (Bach and Handel) and the present (modern Italian composition). A wonderful disc. --Joshua Cody

Mozart - Great Mass in C minor / McNair · Montague · Rolfe Johnson · Hauptmann · Gardiner, Music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Eliot Gardiner, Sylvia McNair, Diana Montague, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Cornelius Hauptmann, The English Baroque Soloists, The Monteverdi Choir, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Mass

Mozart: Great Mass in C minor /McNair * Montague * Rolfe Johnson * Hauptmann * English Baroque Soloists * Gardiner
Average customer rating:

a voice teacher and early music fan

Tasteful & sensitive performance

Among the Finest of the Available Recordings

Mozart and Gardiner: a succesful couple

splendidly divine

Mozart: Great Mass in C minor /McNair * Montague * Rolfe Johnson * Hauptmann * English Baroque Soloists * Gardiner
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , John Eliot Gardiner , Sylvia McNair , Diana Montague , Anthony Rolfe Johnson , Cornelius Hauptmann , The English Baroque Soloists , and The Monteverdi Choir
Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0000040YW
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Kyrie
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Gloria
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Laudamus te
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Gratias
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Domine
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Qui tollis
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Quoniam
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Jesu Christe
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Gloria: Cum Sancto Spiritu
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Credo: Credo
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Credo: Et incarnatus est
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Sanctus
Mass In C Minor, K. 427 'Great' Mass: Sanctus: Benedictus

Amazon.com

John Eliot Gardiner conducts Mozart's Great Mass with the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists. Or rather, what exists of the work: Mozart had imagined a work so ambitious it could never have been completed. What we do have--thanks partly to reconstruction by the conductor of this recording--is one of Mozart's most idiosyncratic works, rich in contrasts between the past (Bach and Handel) and the present (modern Italian composition). A wonderful disc. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2007-07-01

This 'Great' Mass in C minor, which was left unfinished by Mozart, was recorded in London in 1986, for the first time on period instruments. Gardiner based his rendition on the Alois Schmitt reconstruction of 1901, with a few correction he, himself, made.
Under Gardiner's capable leadership this music comes alive with marvelous, and at times surprising changes. The wide peramiter of dynamics and tempi is wonderful to hear and causes the listener to pay close attention lest he miss something wonderful!!!
To say that the Monteverdi Choir is good is a gross understatment; they are extraordinary in their sensitivity to the music; their tone quality is bouyant; their diction is precise and they sing with a vitality that is sometimes missing in many choral groups.
The soloists handle the music quite well, but I personally did not feel that Sylvia McNair was 'into' the music that profoundly; this had to be early in her career, so perhaps that is a factor. Diana Montague, who is more mezzo, was much more dramatic in her rendition. Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor) performed in his usual superior manner, as did Conelius Hauptmann, bass.
It is indeed ironic that Mozart, after completing 14 Masses, left unfinished what proved to be incomparably his greatest liturgical works, the C minor Mass and the Requiem!

Tasteful & sensitive performance.......2007-02-22

This rendition of Mozart's Mass in c is warm and sensitive. It is an
appropriate classical performance with a nice balance between the singers and
the instruments. The tempos are good and the overall pitch is excellent.
I especially like the "Et Incarnatus Est" movement. After
several listenings I found it became part of my blood stream. I highly
recommend this recording.

Among the Finest of the Available Recordings.......2006-10-07

Mozart's MASS IN C MINOR K 427 can be a mixed bag if not under the hands of the right conductor. The work itself is spotty with elements of radiant, exalting beauty along side some (pardon the thought) filler: Mozart himself was aware of this, as the work is unfinished. In the minds of the great conductors the work can sound cohesive and resplendent: at a recent concert with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the LA Phil and the LA Master Chorale, with a bevy of young, mostly Scandinavian soloists who are bound to become well known, the whole seem greater than its parts and it truly soared through the spaces of Disney Hall.

John Eliot Gardiner conducts the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir in this wholly satisfying performance, rich in nuance and delicate in attention to the abrupt changes in dynamics that Mozart elected to write. The overall sound of the orchestra and chorus is elegant if not exalting. The recording is particularly blessed with the soloists chosen: Sylvia McNair makes her role in the 'Kyrie' and especially in 'Et incarnatus est' not only beautifully sung but with a spiritual essence that allows her soaring soprano to feel other-worldly; Diana Montague tackles the excruciatingly difficult 'Laudamus te' as though it were the simplest tune on record; Anthony Rolfe Johnson's tenor matches McNair and Montague in fine form; and Cornelius Hauptmann does what he can with the negligible bass role.

There are several fine recordings of this work but for overall effect it is difficult to match the beauty of Gardiner's devotion to the score. Grady Harp, October 06

Mozart and Gardiner: a succesful couple.......2006-06-02

I own three recordings, all are excellent in their own way:

Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi) a dark, intimate performance, though very dramatic in an introvert way.
Christie (Erato and now cheap on elatus), a rather light, elegantly fresh, open and and maybe more neutral performance.
And this one: Gardiner's which is a very lively performance, with big contrasts and dramatic in an extrovert way.

Wich one I like best is hard to say, all have their strengths, although Gardiner's version appears to be the most idiomatic.

Christie's version is rather down to earth and also the quickest in most parts.
For some it could be too fast: the "Et incarnatus est" for instance is the fastest version I heard, just over 6 minutes where others need at least 8 minutes
But it doesn't sound rushed at all, it is completely natural and the soprano Patricia Petibon sings it lovely, a very cean, pure sounding voice almost as lovely as Sylvia McNair's voice on Gardiner's recording.

The "Qui Tollis" however is too fast for my liking, even faster than Herreweghe's already fast chosen tempo.
Gardiner is the best here, much broader in tempi and more "grand" in the choral treatment.
This part really needs some weight in my opinion and Gardiner's bigger choir (at least it sounds bigger than Herreweghe's and Christie's choir) is much preferable over Christie's and Herreweghe's.

Christie's choir is very good although not as refined as Hererweghe's and Gardiner's.
Christie's reading however sounds much like a live concert, something I love very much about this recording, It may not be as virtuoso and transparant as Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir and not as finely polished and intimate as Herreweghe's but it's all the more spontaneous and loose.

Gardiner's choir is virtuoso and although sometimes too "loud" sounding, Gardiner's (miltairy disciplined) force is superior and simply breathtaking.
Even the most dense textures in choral passages remain open and transparant.

Mozart and Gardiner are a successful couple.
All my reservations I often have towards Gardiner in Bach and Handel I don't have in his Mozart.
I don't know exactly why, but everything works here (as it works in his phenomenal Mozart operas recordings)
His orchestra is polished, rhythmic and very light.
Christie's and Herreweghe's players are fine too, in some respect preferable for their more "personal", spontaneous and warmer performance, but Gardiner's English Baroque Soloists are just that more lightfooted and sharp.

Herreweghe is very impressive in the openingchorus Kyrie.
The most dark reading of the three and the most dramatic.
He builds the tension slowly and doesn't need to be as extrovert as Gardiner to make even more impact in this movement.
His is, as said, a darker, more introvert reading,.
Crescendos are restrained a little, but in Herreweghe's highly concentrated treatment of the score, you can feel involvement in every single note, it has more meaning and is in a way more powerful .

The soloists are great in all 3 recordings
Gardiner's Sylvia McNair is so lovely, a very pure girlish voice with little, excellent controlled vibrato.
Patricia Petibon in Christie's recording comes close.
Christie's Lyne Dawson I like the least, although she sings with far less vibrato than Jennifer Larmore in Herreweghe's recording...I don't know why I'm not that fond of her voice in Christie's recording.

It is difficult to pick a favorite, but in the end my vote goes to Gardiner, which sound is more close to what I think Mozart should sound like.
And I like the bigger choir, it adds the extra weight to some passages which fair well with it.
The recording is great, but I would've liked it a bit dryer and closer, although the big resonance does add a (maybe necessary) 'sacred' element to Gardiner's reading.

A must-have.
But I must insist to listen to Christie and Herrweghe too, you don't want to live without those recordings either.

splendidly divine.......2005-10-09

This recording is absolutely terrific. I am generally not such a big fan of Gardiner or of period instruments, but this rendition simply feels so damn right!! The music is uplifting, moving, almost mystical. Sylvia McNair is just celestial - everytime I hear her sing the Kyrie, chills run down my spine. In general, the performance is vivacious and the sound is crisp. I found the Qui tollis to be a bit dragged out (not sure if the fault is Gardiner's or Mozart's), but otherwise the entire track is simply wonderful (especially the Kyrie, the opening Gloria, the Domine, the Cum Sancto Spiritu, and even the Credo!...should I go on?).
If I could only take 5 CD's with me to a desert island, this would certainly be one of them!

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