Mass IN C K.317　uwe Christian Harrer

Mozarts Große Messe, KV 427, ist Fragment geblieben und gehört dennoch zu den eindrucksvollsten Werken geistlicher Musik in Europa. Der Salzburger Meister folgt hier den Messemodellen Bachs (und Händels). Auch Spuren der italienischen Gesangstradition lassen sich erkennen, vor allem was die Ausarbeitung der Sopranpartien betrifft. Frieder Bernius, in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Musikwissenschaftler Uwe Wolf, hat den Mut, der ausgedehnten Diskographie zu dieser Messe eine weitere Einspielung hinzuzufügen (Kammerchor Stuttgart/Hofkapelle Stuttgart). Das Besondere an dieser Aufnahme ist der aus Praxis, theoretischen und musikhistorischen Überlegungen gespeiste Versuch, eine sehr diskret ergänzte Fassung dieser Messe vorzulegen.

Some ten years probably separates the composition of the Missa in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae (c. 1768) from the Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo (c 1777–8). Because of the virtuoso role of the organ in each work the former has become known as the ''Great Organ Mass'' and the latter as the ''Little Organ Mass''. 'Great' and 'Little' reflect both the size of the orchestras and the scale of each work. Thus the earlier of the two Masses is on an altogether grander scale than the later one. It is scored for a four-part chorus, four soloists (SATB), strings, cors anglais, horns, bassoon and obbligato organ, and in this performance additional trumpet and trombone parts found in one of the work's sources, are included as well. Doubtfully authentic timpani parts are also present.

…Early though it may be, [the Organ Concerto] is a joyous work that reminds me of Haydn's organ concertos….[The `Emperor's Mass'] soars majestically and would surely have been effective in honoring the emperor. The St Florian Boys' Choir is well disciplined, but they do have that raw sound often found in Central European–as opposed to British–choir boys…

First things first: if you're seeing a picture of this disc on the site of an online retailer, be aware that it contains the Mass in C minor, K. 427, not the "Mass in C," promised by the cover, which would more likely be the "Coronation" Mass in C major, K. 337. It is always a shame when designers are given power of diktat over content editors. The so-called "Great" Mass in C minor is one of Mozart's most ambitious and most problematical works. There was no known immediate stimulus for its composition. Did Mozart begin writing it out of one of his rare religious impulses, on the occasion of his marriage to his bride Constanze? Out of his growing devotion to Freemasonry? Was it his first major exercise in applying the lessons in Bach-style counterpoint he had been receiving at the intellectual salons of the Baron van Swieten in Vienna? Or was it meant as a showpiece for singer Constanze with its killer soprano arias? It was all of these things and none of them, for Mozart never finished the mass.

As the mysterious opening bars of the Kyrie gradually emerge into the light, we know that this recording of Mozart’s glorious Great Mass in C minor is a special one: the tempi perfect, the unfolding drama of the choral writing so carefully judged, and, above it all, the crystalline beauty of soloist Carolyn Sampson’s soprano, floating like a ministering angel. Masaaki Suzuki’s meticulous attention to detail, so rewarding in his remarkable Bach recordings, shines throughout this disc, the playing alert, the choir responsive, the soloists thrilling. And there is the bonus of an exhilarating Exsultate, Jubilate with Sampson on top form.