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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This most excellent recording of Mozart's most ambitious setting of the Mass will always have a very special place in my affections,since it was the first ever time I experienced the sheer musical exhilaration,and the highs and lows of the emotional roller-coaster that is the sung liturgy.After all,the Ordinary of the Mass is quite simply the most profound and affecting libretto known to composers,and therefore it's not really too surprising that many of them honoured it with their most deeply-considered workmanship:witness Bach's B minor marvel and Beethoven's astonishing "Missa Solemnis".And never,ever,forget Haydn's "late" settings,which will make you hug your Hi-fi in gratitude for been the means of transmitting such gorgeous sounds to your ears.
Mozart's outpouring of brilliance in this case is well-worthy of rubbing shoulders in such exalted company,and despite the fact that I could cheerfully strangle him for not finishing it (the "Credo" ends at "Et homo factus est",and we've no "Agnus Dei" to round things off in the usual manner),this is still a masterpiece from a composer who wrote more outstanding music than you can shake a stick at.And how could I be angry for a nanosecond with the man who gifted to the world something as sublime as the "Et incarnatus" (take a bow Ms McNair for that stunning rendition) of this mass ? Once you've heard that,I'm sure you'll agree with me about "Great" been almost too paltry a description for this work.I personally would run with "Pure dead brilliant" Mass in C minor,but I somehow doubt you'll be seeing that on a CD cover anytime soon !
Seriously though,this lovely,lovely performance under the revered direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner is,in my humble opinion,the best on the market at the present time.Orchestra,Choir and soloists,within the framework of a very refined acoustic ambience,that communicates an almost tangible spiritual quality,bring Mozart's white-hot inspiration vividly to life,and if you're new to sacred music as I was nearly a decade ago now,this beautiful CD will set you off on a voyage of discovery and revelation that will be the most fruitful and rewarding of your entire life.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I entirely agree with the other customer review already posted. I originally heard a snippet of the 'Qui tollis peccata mundi' being played in a west London junk shop some years ago, was instantly captivated and simply had to know what it was. I have heard several other recordings since, notably the Karajan, but none of them comes near this for a perfect balance between steadiness of purpose and emotional intensity. It is too easy to schmaltz-up Mozart but this recording is all the more powerful for being straightforward, direct, accurate - and heartbreakingly beautiful.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
In the film Amadeus, Salieri (played by F Murray Abraham) says to his visitor, the local Priest, in the asylum where he has been sent after his suicide attempt, "God Mocks Me" or words to that effect. Salieri explains throughout the film that Mozarts music is miraculous and therefore a gift from God. Throughout his short life, Mozart composed some extraordinary works for the Church, the Requiem which he failed to complete because of his death, and this Great Mass in C Minor which he had began to compose in 1782 shortly before his marriage to Constanze Weber which took place the same year. Parts of the work were performed in St Peters Church, Salzburg, during August 1783. As it turned out, it was never completed. It consists of four main parts with numerous subsidiary parts in between. In 1901, Alois Schmitt attempted to complete some of the unfinished parts, and it is this version which John Elliot Gardiner performs here. Gardiner of course, also made some contributions of his own, revising some of Schmitt's original revisions and additions to Mozarts original score.
The performance is beautiful to listen to throughout. It never drags. The playing of the English Baroque Soloists who perform on authentic musical instruments is admirable. Securing a consistant tone in performance and sound, it is a joy. Moreover, the balance between the orchestra, soloists, and the Monteverdi Choir is superb. I do not think there is a better version around, although it has been recorded on numerous occasions over the years. Many admirers of Mozart will of course, have their own preference. For those who do love Mozarts religious works however, this has to be the first choice. A superb presentation, difficult to surpass.
The performance is beautiful to listen to throughout. It never drags. The playing of the English Baroque Soloists who perform on authentic musical instruments is admirable. Securing a consistant tone in performance and sound, it is a joy. Moreover, the balance between the orchestra, soloists, and the Monteverdi Choir is superb. I do not think there is a better version around, although it has been recorded on numerous occasions over the years. Many admirers of Mozart will of course, have their own preference. For those who do love Mozarts religious works however, this has to be the first choice. A superb presentation, difficult to surpass.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fine music and a recording to match
I belong to at least two musical minorities. One: I'm not aboard the Gardiner Bach bandwagon as, though I find his performances of the great choral works immensely technically... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Harry Callahan
Great Mass, great record
A fine recording,typically lively and authentic by John Eliot Gardiner. This has no sense of heaviness as in some previous recordings which can make Mozart sound almost like... Read more
Published 20 months ago by K. F. M. Fisher
The most beautiful music I have ever heard
It has now got to the point where if I don't hear at least some of this cd each day I get withdrawal symptoms. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Martin Davies
Eric's comments
The quality of the recording is first class.
I got the disc as an aid to practice because we are performing the work in mid November. Read more
I got the disc as an aid to practice because we are performing the work in mid November. Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2009 by E. Readman
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