Fine alternative to Pinnock.
quia-nihil-sum | Inverness,Scotland. | 08/15/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"For many years now Trevor Pinnock's splendidly dramatic and incisive performance of the "Nelson" mass has been the "Flagship" of the fleet,but now comes a worthy challenger,which if not exactly overtaking it,at least gets close enough to fire a warning shot across his bows.Perhaps on first listening to this CD you will miss the tense,nervous and almost dangerous energy so evidently communicated in that wonderful Archiv recording.Instead Richard Hickox gives us a reading which underlines the inate spirituality of the text,and if I say that the overwhelming impression you get at the end is one of serenity,you might have trouble believing me,considering that this is Haydn's most anxious and troubled setting of the mass.Don't get me wrong though;there is blood and thunder galore at the appropriate junctures,but out of the maelstrom Haydn's warm humanity and genuine ineffaceable good nature still shine through,and to draw this out of such a storm-tossed work is quite astonishing,and is an enormous tribute to all the superlative musicians involved.The dilemma you are faced with is that you can't get along with just one or the other CD in your collection.You've GOT to have them both.So let me apologise in advance to those of you who are entirely new to this gorgeous music:because you simply have to proceed to Amazon's checkout with two items in you basket,and there is no other alternative available to you - sorry !As to couplings on each respective disc - Pinnock ends his with a wonderfully boisterous "Te Deum", which is not to be missed,whilst Hickox treats us to two earlier works i.e. Haydn's earliest setting of the mass,and his lovely "Ave Regina" which came a few years later.The mass gives us some tantalising glimpses of the future glory that is to come,but on the whole I don't think you will be giving it a run through very often.The Benedictus has a certain sweet charm about it,but apart from that the rest of the mass is pretty perfunctory and doesn't stay in the memory very long.However the "Ave Regina" is a different matter alogether.It's a quite stunning little masterpiece,and features some astonishingly virtuosic passages for soprano and choir.Susan Gritton reprises her superb vocal talents from the main mass,and her poise and grace (especially in the final exquisite aria "Valde,O Valde ) is beyond criticism.However I must admit to a very strong allegiance to an interpretation by Marie-Claude Vallin which appears on a Sony disc (SK 53368) with other miscellaneous early sacred works from the master.I think that each is excellent within the scope and scale of their respective recordings,but forced at gunpoint to choose between them,I'm afraid it would have to be Mme.Vallin who gets my ultimate vote.So apologies once more - it looks as though you are going to have to add a third item to your shopping basket ! Still,think of the staggering musical feast that awaits when this triumvirate of musical treasures arrives in your mailbox !"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1