Search - Luigi Cherubini, Helmuth Rilling, Stuttgart Bach Collegium :: Cherubini: Messe Solennelle no 2

Even Beethoven Thought Highly of It

09/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Much of the weight of my five-star evaluation of this disk I credit to the music itself. There was an old Vanguard recording of this work, and I remember the liner notes remarking enthusiastically that the piece, at well over seventy minutes, was even longer than Beethoven's Missa Solemnis written a decade later. This is not, of course, a terribly significant piece of information, given the greatness of Beethoven's work, but it would be entirely insignificant if Cherubini's wasn't a sustained and worthy effort. However, the Messe Solennelle No. 2 certainly is both.After a fairly somber D minor Kyrie comes an ebullient Gloria, not the equal of Beethoven's soaringly dramatic one but firey and exiting nontheless. The pieces scored for the soloists, again, aren't as remarkably edgy and, often, explosive as Beethoven's, but they are wonderfully lyrical and show Cherubini's gift as a melodist--memorable melodies abound in the the Messe Solennelle. A suitably tragic Crucifixus is followed by a very effective, bright Et resurrexit. But more effective still is the horn-driven Sanctus, brief but galvanizing in effect. Maybe the Donna nobis is a little too jaunty and lightweight after the foregoing grandeur, especially compared to Beethoven's magnificent capstone, but it hardly detracts from Cherubini's masterful writing overall.The performance is very fine. Helmuth Riling usually does well by the high-Classical repertoire, and here he doesn't disappoint. His tempi seem eminently sensible, and his orchestra and chorus perform for him with fine ensemble work. The soloists are very good as well, Patricia Coburn's etherial soprano an especial standout.I liked this music very much when I first heard it many years ago, and I had misgivings about acquiring this new CD for fear my enthusiasm would be dampened by years of listening to great choral music. But it was not. I strongly recommend Cherubini's neglected masterwork."