Recordings
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Mozart Great Mass in C minor
Mozart Great Mass in C minor, K.427
Haydn Berenice, che fai?, Hob.XXIVa:10 (Berenice’s Scena)
Beethoven Ah! Perfido, Op.65 (Scena and Aria for soprano and orchestra)
Camilla Tilling (soprano), Sarah Connolly (soprano),
Timothy Robinson (tenor), Neal Davies (bass)
Gabrieli Consort & Players
Paul McCreesh (conductor)
Paul McCreesh on Mozart’s Mass in C minor: “The Mass seems to be not only a homage to God, but also a musical statement of his love for Constanze [Mozart’s wife]. The soprano solos are extraordinary vocal showpieces, and they are clearly written with a love and a passion that are all-consuming. As we know from reading Mozart’s letters, he had a strong religious and moral sense, but he was also thoroughly worldly; and in the Mass as in the letters, we can feel sensuality, even sexual passion coursing through the pages.”
Excerpt: “Kyrie”
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“There have been excellent period-instrument recordings from Hogwood and Gardiner. McCreesh, sharply responsive both to the Mass’s neo-Baroque monumentality and its Italianate sensuousness, is at least their match in drama and colour; and DG’s recording is exemplary. The Gabrieli Consort sing with precision, fresh, firm tone and marvellous dynamic control, while the strings play with notable grace and refinement in the solo numbers. The Kyrie unfolds with an inexorable tread (McCreesh is specially good at creating and maintaining rhythmic tension), and the ‘Cum Sancto Spiritu’ fugue, taken at the swiftest possible tempo, combines dancing agility with a thrilling cumulative sweep. McCreesh’s claims as a top recommendation are enhanced by the additional items, two magnificent, quasioperatic scenas by Haydn and Beethoven.”Gramophone
DG Archiv
0289 477 5744 3 DDD AH
November 2005