Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Nicolaus Harnoncourt, cond.) -
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis (1992)
flisten
I have no formal music education other than one semester of "Music Appreciation" at University High School in West Los Angeles. Our teacher was the delightful Mrs. June McConlogue, a professional musician who also ran the girls' choir.
Mrs. McConlogue's classroom was in a separate building, far enough away from the administration that she could run a pretty loose ship. People came and went during class and her lesson plans were far from rigid. But beneath that seemingly scattered persona resided the heart of a true music lover. Her passion for classical music came across every day as we worked our way through Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and the other Old Boys. Each day she would play from a large collection of worn LP's, magically transforming our classroom (which had risers rather than desks) into Carnegie Hall. I may not be able to tell you what key a work is in, but I did gain a priceless understanding of the basic chronology of classical music from Renaissance through early 20th Century.
This recording appears on 1001 Classical Recordings (#231 for those of you keeping score). It was released in 1823 after four years of intense toil. I lack the qualifications to evaluate it technically but to me as a lay listener it packs a creative and emotional punch greater than the beloved 9th Symphony which appeared the following year. Where the 9th synthesizes voices and instruments into a unified whole, the
Missa Solemnis focuses the spotlight squarely on the chorus and soloists, not a comfortable place for them to be given its complexity. The 2 hour running time passed so quickly that I looked at my watch in surprise when it ended. According to 1001 Classical Recordings, Harnoncourt deviated from his usual historically informed perspective to employ an ensemble with modern instruments, albeit augmented with period brass and timpani.

on the Sam-O-Meter.