The main work here
is the Mass in C minor KV 427.
It seems to have been written by Mozart
as a vow to God that he would compose
in gratitude a huge Mass should
his fiancée Constance Weber recover
from serious illness. Providence having
seemingly fulfilled all the necessary
requirements Mozart proceeded to keep
his promise and commenced work on the
score early in 1783. For some mysterious
reason Mozart broke the promise failing
to complete the Mass and writing
only the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and
Benedictus and parts of the Credo
and the Et Incarnatus est. Incomplete
though it is, the ‘Great’ C minor
Mass is considered a masterwork.
The highlight for me
is in the seven part Gloria with
the moving adagio passage for
chorus, ‘Gratias agimus tibi propter
gloriam tuam’ (We give thanks
to you for your great glory). Sir
Colin Davis together with chorus master
Arthur Oldham moulded a shapely performance
from the London Symphony Chorus with
an abundance of drama and feeling. Also
in the Gloria is the beatifically
serene duet for the two sopranos; in
this case Helen Donath and Heather Harper,
‘Domine deus, rex celestis’ (Lord
God, heavenly King). Donath, the
first soprano, has the coarser timbre
and the more excessive vibrato. If the
two she is the weaker. The smoother
toned Harper is in especially glorious
voice.
Equally impressive
is the Et Incarnatus est (And
was incarnate) which is a sublime
arioso here taken by Donath who
is accompanied by the flute, oboe and
the bassoon. Donath displays an appropriate
blend of reverence and emotion and her
noticeable vibrato does not present
too many problems. The conclusion to
the Mass is especially well done
with the eloquent Benedictus for
the sopranos, the tenor Ryland Davies
and the bass Stafford Dean, all coming
together with impressive assurance and
outstanding control.
There are few conductors
that I have confidence in with large
orchestral and orchestral forces as
I would with Sir Colin Davis. This is
a performance of impressive stature
and balance and Sir Colin is undoubtedly
a distinguished Mozartian.
My favourite recording
of Mozart’s frequently recorded ‘Great’
Mass in C minor is the interpretation
from John Eliot Gardiner with his Monteverdi
Choir and the English Baroque Soloists,
on Philips 420 210-2. Using period-instruments
this excellent reading is gloriously
sung and played, containing considerable
drama and reverential character. In
large-scale choral works one cannot
usually go wrong with recordings from
the Belgian period-instrument specialist
Philip Herreweghe. He is particularly
impressive with his interpretation of
the ‘Great’ C minor Mass with
La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale
and the Champs-Élysées
Orchestra, on Harmonia Mundi MHC 901393
c/w Masonic Funeral Music, KV
477. Another favourite recording from
my collection is the performance on
modern instruments from Leonard Bernstein
and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus on Deutsche Grammophon 431
791 2 c/w Ave verum corpus KV
618 and Exultate, jubilate KV
165.
The sound quality delivered
by the Philips engineers is now well
over thirty years old but stands up
pretty well. Sadly there are no texts
provided. Record companies must realise
that not every listener will know the
detailed layout of the traditional Mass
setting. Texts and translations in choral
works should be mandatory.
This Philips Eloquence
reissue is not my first choice in the
‘Great’ Mass in C minor but a
performance from the early 1970s that
is worthy of consideration.
Michael Cookson
London Symphony Chorus/Arthur Oldham 
