MISSA SOLEMNIS

[Bonn1827]

Please help. I can't decide which version of this great work by LvB is the one to buy. Currently shopping online at Amazon and dazzled by what's on offer, particularly the Colin Davis Missa and Mass in C - which seems a good bargain. Am wary of the Gardiner because of poor reviews I've read, though I love most of his recordings. Please help and advise. I can't live without this work much longer.

[Peter]

I'd definitely go with New Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus/Otto Klemperer. However if you want period instruments then Orchestre des Champs Elysses and the Choeurs de la Chapelle Royale et du Collegium Vocale, directed by Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi).

[Roehre]

Colin Davis Missa and Mass in C - which seems a good bargain

It certainly is, ever since it was released in the late 1970s it is one of my favourites. The Herreweghe (Live) is a great HIP one (though the applause at the end disturbs me time and again).

[Chris]

I'd definitely go with New Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus/Otto Klemperer.

I second this.

[Michael]

I second this.

I third this. Didn't we have a discussion about this a few weeks back. I can't seem to find it, by maybe the thread started out about something else. Anyway, I think we persuaded Chris to get the Klemperer and he seems happy with it.

[Hofrat]

I have reservations when it comes to Klemperer conducting Beethoven. When I was a university student many many years ago,
I bought his recording of Beethoven's 5th symphony and King Stephen overture. The 5th was a torture: SOOOO SLOOOOOW!! The 1st and 2nd movements completely filled the 1st side of the LP. Yet the King Stephen overture was in perfect tempo. The only reason I did not throw the LP aways was the overture.

Maybe this would be a good time to start a thread: "Conductors that I do not buy!" I have a few.

[Peter]

I have reservations when it comes to Klemperer conducting Beethoven. When I was a university student many many years ago,
I bought his recording of Beethoven's 5th symphony and King Stephen overture. The 5th was a torture: SOOOO SLOOOOOW!! The 1st and 2nd movements completely filled the 1st side of the LP. Yet the King Stephen overture was in perfect tempo. The only reason I did not throw the LP aways was the overture.

Maybe this would be a good time to start a thread: "Conductors that I do not buy!" I have a few.

In general I agree with you and his 5th was dreadfully ponderous - however he really captures the grandeur and majesty of the Missa.

[Phil Leeds]

I third this. Didn't we have a discussion about this a few weeks back. I can't seem to find it, by maybe the thread started out about something else. Anyway, I think we persuaded Chris to get the Klemperer and he seems happy with it.

I asked the same question last year, it is in a thread about the Missa Solemnis started in May.
After the discussion I bought the Klemperer version mentioned and have played it many times and agree it does capture the grandeur and majesty of the work, the wind section is very prominent in places as Klemperer did with the Eroica which I like. There are parts of it I do find a bit slow though and on balance I think I prefer the version I "grew-up" with, i.e David Zinman and Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich

[Bonn1827]

I'd have to say I generally don't like ponderous performances of any work. Remember Bernstein's last performances of Tchaikovsky's 6th? Just awful! Conversely, I don't like the sometimes-hurried readings by period instrument ensembles. Where to get that balance....!

[Michael]

A former member of this forum used to say that his main criterion when choosing a recording of the "Missa Solemnis" is that it must fit on a single CD - otherwise it was bound to be too slow. Klemperer's version just about meets this requirement - it is around 80 minutes long - and mostly not much slower than most versions. The "In Gloria Dei Patris" section of the second movement is the only place where I find a noticeable drop in tempo but it builds up wonderfully.
John Eliot Gardiner's version is also very good - it was "Gramophone Disc of the Year" when it first came out. Also worth listening to is Leonard Bernstein's recording of the early sixties. The sound is of the same vintage as Klemperer's. I have two or three other recordings of the work but these mentioned would be the ones I play most often.

[Sorrano]

My personal preference is the Bernstein recording of the 60's. Unfortunately, I do not have that anymore, nor have I seen it much advertised.

[Chris]

I asked the same question last year, it is in a thread about the Missa Solemnis started in May.
After the discussion I bought the Klemperer version mentioned and have played it many times and agree it does capture the grandeur and majesty of the work, the wind section is very prominent in places as Klemperer did with the Eroica which I like. There are parts of it I do find a bit slow though and on balance I think I prefer the version I "grew-up" with, i.e David Zinman and Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich

Right, it was Phil; I have had this recording for many years. I have never heard the Zinman version, but I'd like too; Zinman's set of Beethoven's Symphonies is outstanding, my personal favorite.