Mozart - Great Mass in C Minor / Augér, Dawson, Ainsley, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Throughout his career, Christopher Hogwood has managed to synthesize the insights of the music scholar and the practical experience of the performer with unusually fruitful results. He has been one of the most influential conductors in extending the precepts of "historically informed performance" beyond a specialized constituency to a mainstream audience, above all in the music of Mozart, as in his acclaimed account of the complete symphonies. This recording of the Mass in C Minor represents one of Hogwood's finest interpretations. It's a sterling example of the conductor's ability to scrub away the crusty patina of received traditions so that we can hear Mozart with fresh ears. The use of period instruments and boy trebles in the chorus allows Hogwood to blend voices and orchestra with remarkable transparency, whether in the brooding Kyrie or the joyful punctuation of the Gloria. Hogwood's fluid sense of Mozartian line shows him thinking not in measures but in wonderfully long-spun phrases--notice the fleet grace of the Laudamus te--that he colors and shades with supple variety. Yet he also brings out the architectural grandeur of Mozart's exuberant polyphony and brass girding. Richard Maunder's edition fleshes out the unfinished score's torso by reconstructing the Sanctus and Osanna and filling out the orchestration in the Credo movements. The quartet of soloists is excellently balanced, with particularly fine contributions from the two sopranos. --Thomas May

Mozart - Great Mass in C Minor / Augér, Dawson, Ainsley, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood, Music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood, Arleen Auger, Lynne Dawson, John Mark Ainsley, David Thomas, Winchester Cathedral Choir, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Classical Vocals, Mass
Mozart - Great Mass in C Minor / Augér, Dawson, Ainsley, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Remarkable singing and direction, unremarkable playing
  • Period instrument recordings are always better
  • A bitter disappointment
  • 100% pure & unequivocable EXCELLENCE !
 Mozart - Great Mass in C Minor / Augér, Dawson, Ainsley, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , The Academy of Ancient Music , Christopher Hogwood , Arleen Auger , Lynne Dawson , John Mark Ainsley , David Thomas , and Winchester Cathedral Choir
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAll Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
Academy of Ancient MusicAcademy of Ancient Music | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Hogwood, ChristopherHogwood, Christopher | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
MassesMasses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
The Decca Records StoreThe Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000E43Q
Release Date: 1999-07-20

Tracks:

  1. Mass In C Minor, K427: I. Kyrie
  2. Mass In C Minor, K427: II Gloria: Gloria In Excelsis Deo
  3. Mass In C Minor, K427: II Gloria: Laudamus Te
  4. Mass In C Minor, K427: II Gloria: Gratias agimus tibi
  5. Mass In C Minor, K427: II Gloria: Domine Deus
  6. Mass In C Minor, K427: II Gloria: Qui tollis peccata mundi
  7. Mass In C Minor, K427: II Gloria: Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
  8. Mass In C Minor, K427: II Gloria: Jesu Christe - Cum Sancto Spiritu
  9. Mass In C Minor, K427: III Credo: Credo in unum Deum
  10. Mass In C Minor, K427: III Credo: Et Incarnatus Est
  11. Mass In C Minor, K427: IV Sanctus: Sanctus - Osanna
  12. Mass In C Minor, K427: IV Sanctus: Benedictus - Osanna

Amazon.com essential recording

Throughout his career, Christopher Hogwood has managed to synthesize the insights of the music scholar and the practical experience of the performer with unusually fruitful results. He has been one of the most influential conductors in extending the precepts of "historically informed performance" beyond a specialized constituency to a mainstream audience, above all in the music of Mozart, as in his acclaimed account of the complete symphonies. This recording of the Mass in C Minor represents one of Hogwood's finest interpretations. It's a sterling example of the conductor's ability to scrub away the crusty patina of received traditions so that we can hear Mozart with fresh ears. The use of period instruments and boy trebles in the chorus allows Hogwood to blend voices and orchestra with remarkable transparency, whether in the brooding Kyrie or the joyful punctuation of the Gloria. Hogwood's fluid sense of Mozartian line shows him thinking not in measures but in wonderfully long-spun phrases--notice the fleet grace of the Laudamus te--that he colors and shades with supple variety. Yet he also brings out the architectural grandeur of Mozart's exuberant polyphony and brass girding. Richard Maunder's edition fleshes out the unfinished score's torso by reconstructing the Sanctus and Osanna and filling out the orchestration in the Credo movements. The quartet of soloists is excellently balanced, with particularly fine contributions from the two sopranos. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Remarkable singing and direction, unremarkable playing.......2004-10-31

All of the previous reviews of this gloriously sung mass are correct: the period band is slight and not powerful enough to project over the marvelous singers, while the singers -- which is what this is about -- are uniformly outstanding.

Perhaps most outstanding is the contribution of the late lamented soprano Arleen Auger, whose voice and timbre were wondrous for this recording with Christopher Hogwood, the Academy of Ancient Music and Winchester Cathedral Choir with soloists Lynne Dawson, John Mark Ainsley and David Thomas. Aside from the thin orchestral support, there is nary a weak link in the group and a great many outstanding performances. True to his character, Hogwood collaborates with engineers to bring forth a crystal clear and transparent recording that is long on weight and fortitude while adhering to the religious joys inherent in the music.

I am variably troubled by the substituion of a boy's choir for an adult women's section, which I find authentic but results in a mass less kaleidoscopic than normal and not particularly weighty. This, coupled with the lean support given by the thin as a rail string section and disappearing act by the woodwinds of the AAM, keeps this performance from being a five star job. Still, if singing is the main ingredient for you, you may look long and diligently to find one that matches this.

Traditionalists should find what they want from the bargain twofer by Colin Davis of this mass, the Requiem and another mass on Philips. The performances, recorded made during the 1970s, are traditional and include large choirs with famous soloists and a conductor that emphasizes vocal and instrumental drama over religiousity. A reverberant acoustic makes his C Minor Mass one to remember, as well.

4 out of 5 stars Period instrument recordings are always better.......2003-12-06

I can see Chicago's point. Unfortunately the balance between the voices and the orchestra is lacking and it is one of Hogwoods weaker recordings. Having stated that, listening to Mozart on period instruments (even at it's weakest) is better than any other recording of the Mass in C minor that I have ever heard. For those of you who purchase this item, Hogwoods recording of Mozart's Requiem mass is absolute perfection.

2 out of 5 stars A bitter disappointment.......1999-12-20

Normally, I am a great fan of Christopher Hogwood/the Academy of Ancient Music and their recordings. It was therefore with great anticipation that I listened to their recording of Mozart's C Minor mass, a piece which I was already quite familiar with and fond of. My anticipation soon turned to disappointment, however, for on this recording the voices -- the chorus in particular, but the soloists as well -- totally drown out the instrumental forces. To be sure, the singing is beautiful; but certainly the orchestra would sound beautiful, too, if one could only hear it. I suppose this is not the fault of Hogwood or the AAM, but rather of the recording technicians, who failed to achieve a proper balance. I now wish I had purchased another recording

5 out of 5 stars 100% pure & unequivocable EXCELLENCE !.......1999-11-03

Of the many different recordings of this masterpiece that I have already heard, this truly is OUTSTANDING...the nearest thing to pure heaven. Above all, it acts as a true testament to the finest choral tradition in the world; that of the English Cathedral.

Music Review:

  1. Mozart: Piano Concertos nos 10, 19 & 20 / Rabinovitch, Argerich
  2. Mozart: String Quintets, K. 515 & K. 516
  3. Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 31, 33, 34
  4. Music With Changing Parts
  5. Paul Schoenfield: Concerto for Viola & Orchestra; Four Motets; The Merchant and the Pauper (Excerpts from Act 2)
  6. Peter Mennin: Moby Dick; Symphonies Nos. 3 & 7
  7. Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos. 3, 7, 8 [Import]
  8. Psalms of Repentance
  9. Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2; Liszt: Concerto No. 1
  10. Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 4 [Import]

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