Mass for soloists, chorus & orchestra in D major ("Missa Solemnis"), Op. 123
Recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's Missa Solemnis are numerous and readily available, though most of them are conventional, large-scale versions, and few qualify as period interpretations that employ original instruments and follow authentic practices from Beethoven's day. Daniel Reuss' 2017 release on Glossa is quite clearly a historically informed performance, taking into account the chamber-sized Cappella Amsterdam, the distinctive string and wind sonorities of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, and Reuss' brisk ...
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Recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's Missa Solemnis are numerous and readily available, though most of them are conventional, large-scale versions, and few qualify as period interpretations that employ original instruments and follow authentic practices from Beethoven's day. Daniel Reuss' 2017 release on Glossa is quite clearly a historically informed performance, taking into account the chamber-sized Cappella Amsterdam, the distinctive string and wind sonorities of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, and Reuss' brisk tempos, which lend the music a feeling of urgency, instead of the excessive reverence of many stodgy mainstream performances. Reuss delivers a powerful Missa Solemnis that is moving and spiritually uplifting without sacrificing musical clarity or dramatic impact for religiosity. Soprano Carolyn Sampson, alto Marianne Beate Kielland, tenor Thomas Walker, and bass David Wilson are well matched as a quartet, and their controlled, evenly blended singing and balanced dynamics hold in...
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