Prom 69: Beethoven’s Missa solemnis (7.09.22)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Wednesday 7 September 2022
Royal Albert Hall

Ludwig van Beethoven: Missa solemnis

Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Ann Hallenberg (mezzo-soprano)
Giovanni Sala (tenor)
William Thomas (bass)
Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner

‘From the heart – may it go straight to the heart.’ Ludwig van Beethoven worked for half a decade on his Missa solemnis, and it’s infinitely more than just one of the mightiest and most ambitious Mass settings since Bach. The Missa solemnis is the supreme spiritual testament of one of the greatest creative artists who ever lived: an intimate self-portrait of a human soul, profoundly beautiful and almost unbearably moving. This performance is a labour of love for Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Few living conductors can match his experience as an interpreter of Classical and Romantic choral music, and with the period instruments of the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Beethoven’s inspiration will glow with a special richness and warmth.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I've managed to source the BBC's Proms crystal ball.

[Petrushka]

Very much looking forward to this in the hall for my final Prom of the season.

Impossible to believe that it's 40 years ago this week since my first Proms Missa Solemnis with Sir Georg Solti and the LPO. One never to be forgotten.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Did I mishear or was that opening just not together ? Also lovely to hear so much woodwind but the strings are a bit too far back in the balance …

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Did I mishear or was that opening just not together ? Also lovely to hear so much woodwind but the strings are a bit too far back in the balance …

The opening did sound rather messy. Must check the score.

[Ein Heldenleben]

The opening did sound rather messy. Must check the score.

Liked the performance overall but the strings were so far back in the balance. The brass really dominated the Gloria imv. Lovely singing particularly from Lucy Crowe - the accuracy of her pitching with so little vibrato was nothing short of miraculous.

[Maclintick]

Turned it off, I'm afraid, as I can't abide JEG's habitual militaristic wham-bang-crashery. Heard this piece several times under Colin Davis who had the measure of it, IMHO. Also, the in-yer-face choral balance didn't help...there was one soprano...no suggestion of RAH ambience, at least on the wireless..

[Ein Heldenleben]

Turned it off, I'm afraid, as I can't abide JEG's habitual militaristic wham-bang-crashery. Heard this piece several times under Colin Davis who had the measure of it, IMHO. Also, the in-yer-face choral balance didn't help...there was one soprano...no suggestion of RAH ambience, at least on the wireless..

You wouldn’t have liked the Gloria….

[RichardB]

I found his recording of it pretty good, though it's outclassed in most departments (except the vocal soloists) by Harnoncourt. Maybe for some people JEG's Beethoven is too "révolutionnaire" and insufficiently "romantique". I don't think this performance was on the level of the recording. "No suggestion of RAH ambience": OK by me.

[smittims]

I'm not a fan of period performance style, and knowing that many here are, I expected more laudatory comments, esp. given the ongoing popularity of this conductor .

Funnily enough I enjoyed it, though I was disturbed by the sudden ritardando at the very end of the 'Gloria'. Instead of a shouted 'Gloriya!' it was 'Glo-o-oriahh...'

[mopsus]

I was there and noticed a slight tremor sometimes in one of JEG's hands, which may have contributed to the fluff at the start.

Despite the HIP band, pronunciation was Italian not German Latin, although German Latin is now often heard in performances of this work at all levels including choral societies. (I'd welcome comments on this.)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Despite the HIP band, pronunciation was Italian not German Latin, although German Latin is now often heard in performances of this work at all levels including choral societies. (I'd welcome comments on this.)

I don’t know much about German Latin, but I do remember being trained to sing English Latin, which was quite a revelation, but quite hard work for anyone used to Italian Latin.

[BBMmk2]

Hearing this now!

[mopsus]

The giveaways are things like 'kv' for 'qu' and hard c's and g's throughout. Does JEG ever use German Latin or did he decide not to for this particular work/performance? I have a recording of his B minor Mass so I could check that, although I'm one of those who find it an infuriating interpretation.

[Mario]

“From the heart, may it go to…”

The metronome?

And who was the clever so-and-so who interrupted the tuning up between movements to tell us nothing we knew already? I’m not up with BBC Radio 3’s commentators – was it Katie Derham?

Slowly, I begin to understand the displeasure of members here with R3.