re Missa Solemnis - any other listening suggestions please?

[parsnip]

Hello lovely people

I'm not listening to much except Beethoven these days. I've been giving the symphonies a bit of a rest recently and have discovered two  rather wonderful DG releases by Maurizio Pollini - 'The Late Piano Sonatas' & 'Favourite Piano Sonatas', as well as the 3CD Mitsuko Uchida 'The 5 Piano Concertos' on Decca. Wonderful stuff.

However... whatever little bit of 'Ingredient X' I've found in the above recordings, I've discovered in spades with 2 recordings of Missa Solemnis - the DG Herbert von Karajan one and EMI Classics GROC Otto Klemperer release. Both amazing on their own merits and I couldn't really choose between either at the moment.

You could presume from this that I have a penchant for Choral music, but I've given Bach's Mass in B Minor a go, plus the 'usual' suspects, as well as Mozart's Coronation Mass included with the DG von Karajan above but they just don't float my boat like Missa Solemnis.

Okay, now for the  difficult-to-explain bit:
There is something about the Missa Solemnis that I can only describe as panentheist. 'God within everything, and everything within God'. I possibly need to use the word 'sublime' perhaps?

If you actually know what the bloody hell I'm getting at here, it would be grand if you could suggest any other currently-available releases I may enjoy!

And no, I'm not on drugs.

Best wishes
paul

[Jo498]

Not sure if you want more recordings of the Missa Solemnis or other pieces you might enjoy?

The missa solemnis is rather unique. The closest things might be Beethovens C major mass (Giulini/EMI is pretty good, but maybe not easily available) and some of Haydn's late masses (there are six of them).

Later romantic pieces like Mendelssohn's Paulus and Elias and Brahms's and Verdi's Requiem settings are different, but also rather "symphonic" compared to e.g. the Coronation mass.

[EigenUser]

Hello lovely people

I'm not listening to much except Beethoven these days. I've been giving the symphonies a bit of a rest recently and have discovered two  rather wonderful DG releases by Maurizio Pollini - 'The Late Piano Sonatas' & 'Favourite Piano Sonatas', as well as the 3CD Mitsuko Uchida 'The 5 Piano Concertos' on Decca. Wonderful stuff.

However... whatever little bit of 'Ingredient X' I've found in the above recordings, I've discovered in spades with 2 recordings of Missa Solemnis - the DG Herbert von Karajan one and EMI Classics GROC Otto Klemperer release. Both amazing on their own merits and I couldn't really choose between either at the moment.

You could presume from this that I have a penchant for Choral music, but I've given Bach's Mass in B Minor a go, plus the 'usual' suspects, as well as Mozart's Coronation Mass included with the DG von Karajan above but they just don't float my boat like Missa Solemnis.

Okay, now for the  difficult-to-explain bit:
There is something about the Missa Solemnis that I can only describe as panentheist. 'God within everything, and everything within God'. I possibly need to use the word 'sublime' perhaps?

If you actually know what the bloody hell I'm getting at here, it would be grand if you could suggest any other currently-available releases I may enjoy!

And no, I'm not on drugs.

Best wishes
paul

I love the Missa Solemnis! One of my favorite works. It is the work that keeps reminding me that there is a great composer I've yet to really explore.

[Mandryka]

Hello lovely people

I'm not listening to much except Beethoven these days. I've been giving the symphonies a bit of a rest recently and have discovered two  rather wonderful DG releases by Maurizio Pollini - 'The Late Piano Sonatas' & 'Favourite Piano Sonatas', as well as the 3CD Mitsuko Uchida 'The 5 Piano Concertos' on Decca. Wonderful stuff.

However... whatever little bit of 'Ingredient X' I've found in the above recordings, I've discovered in spades with 2 recordings of Missa Solemnis - the DG Herbert von Karajan one and EMI Classics GROC Otto Klemperer release. Both amazing on their own merits and I couldn't really choose between either at the moment.

You could presume from this that I have a penchant for Choral music, but I've given Bach's Mass in B Minor a go, plus the 'usual' suspects, as well as Mozart's Coronation Mass included with the DG von Karajan above but they just don't float my boat like Missa Solemnis.

Okay, now for the  difficult-to-explain bit:
There is something about the Missa Solemnis that I can only describe as panentheist. 'God within everything, and everything within God'. I possibly need to use the word 'sublime' perhaps?

If you actually know what the bloody hell I'm getting at here, it would be grand if you could suggest any other currently-available releases I may enjoy!

And no, I'm not on drugs.

Best wishes
paul

I know exactly what you mean.

As far as other choral pieces, I think you should try an opera - Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aaron. Also a mass by Antoine Busnois called "Missa L'homme Armé", Luigi Nono's Prometeo, Karlheinz Stockhausen's Momente and Brian Ferneyhough's Transit.

These are pieces which I think have some of the magical wild sublime pagan quality of the Missa Solemnis.

If you're just looking for other interesting records of the Beethoven, then let me know and I'll give it a think.

[André]

If you want more LvB Missas, I can suggest the Bernstein Concertgebouw version on a  single DG disc or the even more dedicated and effusive Jochum on Philips (also with the Concertgebouw Orkest).

If you want works that remind you of the Missa's grandeur and drama, try the Mozart c minor Mass or Haydn's Missa Cellensis (Sancts Caecilia Mass).

[jochanaan]

For a somewhat more meditative version of Missa Solemnis, try the Karl Boehm/Vienna Philharmonic version from the 1970s, with a stellar cast of soloists and the Vienna Staatsopernchor.

And if you're looking to branch out repertoire-wise, try the Masses and Te Deum and other choral works of Anton Bruckner.  My personal favorite is Mass #2 in E minor.

[Daverz]

Cherubini, perhaps?  His masses were, I believe, Beethoven's models.

[asin]B003TRKQNW[/asin]

[Wanderer]

Some suggestions:

Beethoven: Mass in C
Bruckner: the 3 Masses and Te Deum
Berlioz: Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem)
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
Mahler: Symphony No.8
Mendelssohn: Symphony No.2 "Lobgesang"