A Radiant Missa Solemnis
Beethoven completed his Missa Solemnis in 1823, following four years of effort. With the possible exception of "Fidelio", no other work cost Beethoven such pain. With some reason, Beethoven regarded the Missa Solemnis as his greatest composition. With its size, complexity, and varied use of musical forms, the Missa Solemnis may be Beethoven's most difficult work to approach. But the meaning of the work is clear: the Missa Solemnis constitutes Beethoven's sustained effort to come to terms with God and with his own life. Through its frequently tortured moments, the Missa Solemnis ends with a deeply moving prayer for inner and outer peace.
This Missa Solemnis by David Zinman conducting the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich is a joy in the exuberance it brings to the work. Zinman served as Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1985 -- 1998 and as Chief Conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra since 1995. In 1999 Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra recorded a widely-acclaimed cycle of the Beethoven symphonies. This recording of the Missa Solemnis dates from 2001, has only recently been rereleased on Arte Nova, and meets the same high standard. The CD is available at a budget price.
Joy, transparency, and lightness characterize Zinman's reading of the Missa Solemnis. Zinman's interpretation compliments that of many other recordings which emphasize the solemn and severe aspects of the music. A key to Zinman's approach lies in tempo. His performance of the Missa runs just under 66 minutes. In contrast, an excellent budget performance on Naxos by the late Kenneth Schermerhorn's runs over 77 minutes while Otto Klemperer's magisterial reading of the Missa Solemnis is close to 80 minutes in length. Zinman's pacing of the work gives it a joyful, moving flow, even in the complex fugal sections. It reminded me that religious search is serious but not necessarily ponderous. Zinman's reading is filled with hope. In addition, there is a wonderful unity of effort in this CD among the orchestra, chorus, and soloists. They tend to blend beautifully together as the four solo voices interlace with the chorus and with each other.
Beethoven composed the Missa Solemnis in five large blocked sections, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Each of the sections is a unity but yet each also consists of widely different types of music. Beethoven used a great deal of archaic material in the Missa Solemnis, including chant and modal scales interspersed with straighforward tonal sections of more immediate appeal. On this CD, the Missa Solemnis is, unusually, divided into 21 tracks, which allows the listener to focus upon the many changes within each of the five sections of the work.
Some of the best moments of Zinman's reading include the passionate opening to the "Gloria" section, the lovely interplay between vocalist and flute in the "Et incarnatus est" passage of the "Credo", the violin obligato in the Benedictus section of "Sanctus" and the concluding section of "Agnus Dei" which in Zinman's reading becomes a flowing and graceful, almost dance-like prayer for deep serenity.
Zinman offers a lyrical and graceful interpretation of what, by any account, is a difficult, demanding masterwork to perform and to hear. Any lover of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis will have his or her feeling for the work enhanced by Zinman's reading.
Robin Friedman
