The opening pictures giving
a view of the church are superb (Ch.1) and the photography
never falls below that high standard. The concert is of
a wide selection of Mozart’s religious music. It takes
place within the quite magnificent setting of the Domkirche
St. Stephen. The camera’s movement around the architecture
and ornamentation of the building adds significantly to
the enjoyment of the concert.
The boys of the Wiener
Sangerknaben (Vienna Boys Choir) are in their traditional
sailor suits whilst the men are in dark suits. The soloists
are situated at the front of the small orchestra. The programme
consists of orchestral pieces and combinations of the choirs
and soloists. The boys’ choir is something of a disappointment.
Far too often they have their heads down into their scores
(Ch. 6) resulting in poor vocal projection into the warm,
but not over-reverberant, acoustic. I was also disappointed
in the vocal quality of the choristers chosen as soloists
in the Coronation Mass excerpts where their tonal colour
is distinctly thin (Chs. 7-12). It is many years since
I heard the Vienna Boys live, but I well remember the purity
and excellent range of their voices. On this evidence the
choristers in the British cathedral choir schools are significantly
superior. Of the named soloists the soprano Sandrine Piau
sings the Et incarnatus from the Mass in C minor
(Ch. 4), the Laudate Dominum (Ch. 6) and the Agnus
Dei (Ch 14). Although she makes good efforts at phrasing
and expression, her voice fails to soar. It needs bringing
forward and projecting. Of the two men, the bass of Wolfgang
Bankl is particularly pleasing and his firmness in the Coronation
Mass is a particular strength. In the orchestral items
(Chs. 2 and 15) Bertrand de Billy conducts briskly with
well-pointed rhythms. The well-wrapped audience show a
cultured appreciation.
A major value of this
issue comes in the bonus of Marieke Schroeder’s documentary
on the subject of Mozart’s last ten years in Vienna. It
describes a capital city of two hundred thousand citizens,
some living fifty to a house! It was a particularly interesting
time in Vienna with Emperor Joseph, who commissioned Cosi
fan tutte, intent on reform. It was a turbulent time
for Mozart, particularly after the Emperor’s premature
death and him not a favourite at the Court of his successor.
Using Mozart’s writings, contemporary scholarship and interviews
with renowned artists from music and opera production,
the film investigates the changing picture of the composer
from the 1780s to the present day. In the process it takes
the viewer to the very heart of modern Vienna. There are
some fine musical excerpts.
The concert component
of this DVD would have been a lot better with a quality
soprano and better rehearsal for the choir. However, musically
it does present a diverse range of Mozart’s religious music
and can be recommended as such. Mozart and Vienna lovers
can enjoy the bonus many times over.
Robert J. Farr
BUY NOW
AmazonUK AmazonUS
|
Advertising
Rates
Visitor
stats
MusicWeb
International
has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer
Discs
received
Having a problem
Donating?
Gerard
Hoffnung Concerts &
The
Bricklayer Story
MusicWeb
can now offer
you discs from the following catalogues:
Prices include postage
There will be NO
VAT Rises
Musicweb
Special
Offers
Monthly
Best Buys
New
Releases
New
Releases
MusicWeb
sells the Polish
catalogue CDAccord
£10.50 post free W-W
MusicWeb sells the
Arcodiva catalogue
£12.00 post free W-W
£11.75
post-free world-
wide
Google
Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.
Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon
EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide
a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk
and Amazon.com
|
Sandrine
Piau (sop); Dietmar Kerschbaum (ten); Wolfgang Bankl
(bass) 
[68:00
+ 59:00 bonus] 
