Beethoven – Missa Solemnis
Arnold Schoenberg Choir; Concentus Musicus Wien; Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Sony Classical 88985313592
The passing of Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt earlier this year has left a tremendous void in the music world. An aristocrat, not only by birth (he was a direct descendant of the Hapsburgs), but in his mind and soul, he was not only an original musical mind, a scholar and a great conductor, but a teacher and inspiration to the young. He had the uncanny ability to treat any piece of music like he had never heard it before, breathe new life into it and make his players and audiences feel enthusiastic and rejuvenated. Rehearsing Beethoven, which I saw him do, he became a giant and literally roared like a lion at some of the great outbursts, but he also had a wonderful sense of humour that made his young orchestra chuckle with laughter.
He himself had problems with Missa Solemnis and came late to conducting this disputed masterpiece: “a religious work that combines war and redemption, horror and hope – a bizarre enough combination in the extremes to which Beethoven takes it” (Robert Levine). There haven’t been many recordings and very few successful ones. Most recently (2012) Harnoncourt conducted it at the Concertgebouw with modern instruments and a superb quartet of soloists (including our wonderful Gerald Finley), but here he is rejoined with Concertus Musicus Wien, a period instrument group he founded, for what he intended to be his last recording. Never happy with earlier accomplishments, this version is full of question marks, looking for new answers, new sonorities and it’s just another example of what he was all his life, constantly searching and never wanting to give up. So the quest continues….
