Cherubini keeps impressing me with personal touches in his Mass settings. In this go around, it is the Missa Solemnis in G Major from 1819, another great musical improvement upon his previous effort, in my opinion.
The Kyrie is characterized with strange word emphasis. One will be quiet while the next will be full out singing. Most unusual.
The Gloria is the first allusion to the coronation occasion this Mass was written for. The upward-moving brass with men's voices is stirring. But also, the back and forth between the women's and men's voices punctuated here and there by the orchestra.
Cherubini brings back the Gloria theme a few times, tying the whole movement together wonderfully. This all occurs opposite very quiet a cappella portions and a minor-keyed Qui Tollis, where the changes in dynamic are most ear-catching.
Oddly, the Credo is quite nervous sounding, sung with another overlapping back and forth between gendered sections. It all erupts into another glorious coronation setting, but it is all a most unusual feel, another example where the main musical ideas return later. This is followed by a slow trudging section which leads into the Et Resurrexit, which is, if possible, even more stirring than the Gloria, almost in a manic coronation feel, followed by that nervy Credo feel again.
This time, Cherubini melds the Sanctus, Benedictus, and O Salutaris together into one movement, instead of three separate sections, as he has done in the past. Instead of a loud dotted figure for the Sanctus, Cherubini uses a crescendo over a pedal, an effect he also likes to use in his Overtures.
The final Agnus Dei is, like the previous Requiem in C minor, a powerful statement instead of prayerful. I am not sure if it is the coronation occasion which elicits the change in musical setting compared to what came before, but it is most effective music from Cherubini. The whole work ends in a whisper, the hushed moment only ruined by the orchestral punctuation at the final note.
This time, Riccardo Muti is with the London PO and Chorus from 1989, and once again, Muti elicits powerful performances, especially noteworthy in these coronation works. I only sense EMI's recording level is a little low, but a cranking of the volume knob will help this situation. Otherwise, I am continually impressed with Cherubini's Mass writing and Muti's advocacy creates an electric atmosphere.
Listen on YouTube
Work
Missa Solemnis in G MajorI. Kyrie (7.21)
II. Gloria (12.22)
III. Credo (11.55)
IV. Sanctus, Benedictus, O Salutaris (6.35)
V. Agnus Dei (6.30)
Ensembles
London Philharmonic Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Label: EMI
Year: 1989
Total Timing: 44.43
Well, if Cherubini's Masses keep exceeding my expectations, where is there left to go?
Really impressive music making from Muti and London, and really the only recording of this work available, as far as I am aware.
Find more Cherubini recordings HERE!
Riccardo Muti, live
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