play pause radio-play skip-back skip-forward playing search copy check embed close plus caret-down caret-left caret-right caret-up chevron-down chevron-left chevron-right chevron-up arrow-left arrow-right open-in-new-tab filter menu more-horizontal more-vertical share share-android select star star-block volume-block volume-mute-block volume-mute volume lock settings recording composition devices laptop speaker
Log inCreate account

Beethoven: Missa solemnis, Op. 123 (Live)

6/2/2017, 5 Tracks, 1:13:02

Featuring

  • Marek Janowski
  • Regine Hangler
  • Elisabeth Kulman
  • Christian Elsner
  • Franz-Josef Selig
  • Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
  • MDR Rundfunkchor
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

Did you know?

1/7

Notable Performances

The Missa solemnis premiered in St. Petersburg on April 7, 1824, as a concertante performance under Prince Gallitzin, and was later given an incomplete performance in Vienna.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Beethoven originally intended his Missa solemnis for the enthronement of his pupil and patron, Archduke Rudolph, as Archbishop of Olomouc in 1820, but it was not completed in time.

Source: Booklet

Compositional Technique

Beethoven's Missa solemnis blends ancient church music with modern instrumental music, incorporating 'submotivic connections' that subtly link different sections, a technique difficult to recognize at first hearing.

Source: Booklet

Composer's Artistic Vision

Beethoven considered the Missa solemnis his 'most successful intellectual product' because it demonstrated his personal view of faith and his highly contrasting interpretations of the mass text.

Source: Booklet

Compositional Technique

The Missa solemnis is a work of extremes, characterized by an 'extremely pronounced principle of contrast at all levels,' alternating peace with movement, ecstatic rejoicing with dignity, and polyphony with homophony.

Source: Booklet

Recording & Production

This album is a live recording of a concert performance in the Berlin Philharmonie on September 28, 2016, and was produced by Pentatone and Deutschlandradio Kultur.

Source: Booklet

Composer's Artistic Vision

Beethoven regarded the Missa solemnis as a deeply personal confrontation with his faith, aiming to unify music and word, and to awaken and perpetuate religious feelings in both performers and listeners.

Source: Booklet

You might also enjoy...

Gounod: Messe solennelle de Sainte Cécile
Beethoven: Mass in D Major, Op. 123 "Missa solemnis"
Dvorák: Mass in D Major, Op. 86
Gounod: St. Cecilia Mass / Bizet: Te Deum
Beethoven: Missa solemnis, Op. 123 (Live)
Rossini: Stabat Mater
Anton Bruckner: Mass No. 2 (1882 version) / Te Deum [1884 version] [Berlin Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Rogner]
Rossini: Stabat Mater
Bruckner: Mass No. 1 in D Minor
Beethoven: Missa solemnis, Op. 123
Beethoven: Mass in D Major, Op. 123 "Missa Solemnis"
Suppe: Requiem
Bruckner: Messe F-moll
Cherubini: Mass No. 2 in D Minor, "Messe Solennelle"
©℗ 2017 PentaTone