Mozart Masses - Kv257, 258, 259 & Sonatas Kv244,263

Of Mozart's last two complete Mass settings both written in Salzburg during his final period in court service there, 1779–80, the Coronation Mass, K3 17 is a good deal better known than the Missa solemnis, K337. Perhaps justifiably: it has a freshness and warmth all of its own. But K337 does not deserve its neglect. It is on a modest scale in spite of its title (shorter in fact than the Coronation) begins with a sombre little andante Kyrie, and continues with a brisk pair of movements in the typical Austrian style with plenty of bustling violin figuration (interrupted in the Credo for a slower "Et incarnatus", begun by the soprano), an unusual feature is the choral fugue that forms the Benedictus (Mozart usually makes this a solo movement in a gentle, amoroso manner), and equally out of the ordinary is the Agnus, the emotional climax of the work, set for soprano with solo oboe, bassoon and, surprisingly organ briefly liberated from its accompanying role. The present recording does something I have always hoped would be done in a Mozart Mass performance: it includes the epistle sonatas apt to the Masses concerned, between the Gloria and the Credo, where they would have been given in the original Salzburg performances. The effect is delightful and appropriate, and I hope this will be widely copied as a proper way to do these works—listening to Mozart's epistle sonatas 17 at a time, as the record companies have generally offered them up to now, isn't quite the ideal way of approaching these one-movement, allegro pieces. The new version also has the advantage of period instruments. The conductor, Peter Neumann, tends to extremes of tempo in K317: I find the Kyrie a little unnaturally held back, the Gloria a shade hard-driven, the Credo pretty rapid, and later the second "Osanna" irrupting rather violently on the Benedictus. But it is a persuasive performance on the whole, the more so because of Patrizia Kwella's singing of the soprano music, with her characteristic firmness and glitter. She is heard to advantage too in the Agnus Dei of K337. Of the other soloists, the tenor shows a clear and well focused voice; the bass is no more than adequate. The inclusion of the epistle sonatas and the use of period instruments, as well as Patrizia Kwella's contribution, incline me to prefer this disc to the Cleobury/Argo from King's College, Cambridge though if we are talking of period instruments it is only proper to say that the King's one uses period voices—boys, that is, in the chorus—while the new one doesn't. Cleobury gives admirable performances, in the usual King's style, of both works; the effect is rather more airy, in spite of the resonant acoustic, than on the new disc, but on the whole I find Neumann's reading of K337, with his slow, reflective Kyrie, his livelier Gloria and his thoughtful account of the last two movements, at least as appealing. On balance, I would choose the new version, then, but wouldn't lose any sleep if I already had the old one and decided to stay with it. http://home.wanadoo.nl/jdpt/reviews/Moza/neumann-317,337.htm

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mic1303 (2008-11-16)

I heard a live performance once of the Mozart Cornation Mass, in the Salzburg tradition. The Epistle Sonatas for this service were played in between the Gloria and Credo, and to end the service after the Agnus Dei.