Composed over four years, Beethoven considered his devotional work Missa Solemnis to be his greatest composition. Professor Barry Cooper, of the University of Manchester, has recently overseen the editing and publication of a new critical edition of the Missa Solemnis (which has made some restorations to the score of instructions by Beethoven which have been missing over the years) and it was this new edition which was performed by the University of Manchester Chorus and Symphony Orchestra.
Written for a choir, full orchestra, and four vocal soloists, the piece is suitably epic in scope and requires a delicate balancing act to ensure that one element does not overshadow the other. Furthermore, the piece contains shifts in tones and textures and is recognised as one of the more challenging classical works to perform. Given all this, Missa Solemnis therefore requires a conductor who can keep all the elements under control. Robert Guy proved to be more than up to the task, providing strong direction throughout but especially at the powerful, punchy opening to the second movement (the Gloria) which contrasted with the generally reflective mood of the opening movement (Kyrie), a section which consisted of three repeated vocal lines over a musical bed provided by the string section and punctuated by the sounds of trumpets and horns. The Gloria featured striking orchestral flourishes, including a haunting flute solo, and a rousing climax which was dramatically brought to a sudden halt. For the third movement (Credo), the soloists were re-positioned: whereas for movements one and two they were stood in front of the orchestra, for the Credo they were behind the orchestra and in front of the choir. The reason for this change was to highlight one of the changes Professor Cooper had made in his new edition of the score: Beethoven had made notations on his manuscript for the soloists to join the choir during the Credo to voice the moments of belief they shared, rather than leaving the soloists stood on their own with little to do. Musically, this section had a strong rhythmic pattern throughout, which reflected the choir and soloists’ declarations of belief in the church and the Lord God. The fourth movement (Sanctus and Benedictus) struck a more sombre tone and is the movement famed for having a violin solo halfway through. While the lead violin played, support was given from the choir and soloists in harmonising their vocals with the tone of the violin (credit should be given to the violin soloist who was a last-minute replacement as the original player chosen to handle this delicate moment had unfortunately been taken ill). The final movement of Missa Solemnis (Agnus) mirrored that of the Kyrie by presenting a reflective musical tone as each soloist was given a moment to sing alone. As the piece neared its conclusion, the rippling sound of timpani percussion guided the music and vocal performances to their end, a calming presence as the reconciliation of bodily senses and spiritual devotion was brought to a head with the end of the work.
The four vocal soloists – Grace Gammell (Soprano), Florence Price (Alto), Dexter Drown (Tenor), and Alexander Hopkins (Bass) – were given plenty of scope to demonstrate their skills throughout the work although it is fair to say that Drown’s tenor emerged as the strongest vocal performance of the night with Price’s performance on the alto harmonies giving him close competition. Hopkins was finally allowed to demonstrate his impressive voice on the final movement of the work (Agnus), and Gammell too had moments within the work to highlight her soprano voice but it was Drown’s voice which stood out the most throughout the whole of the Missa Solemnis.
Everyone involved in this performance – from conductor Guy, to the soloists, the orchestra members, and the singers in the expansive choir, have much to feel proud of. To give such a challenging work such a beautiful rendition required an awful lot of discipline and talent and there was an abundance of both. The performance was enough to stir some form of faith within the soul of any listener, irrespective of whether they were religious or more secular.
Reviewer - Andrew Marsden
on - 30/11/19
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