Few scores present its performers with such formidable challenges as the Missa Solemnis, Beethoven’s tremendous examination of the grandeur of God and the mess mankind has made of creation. It’s a work of such immensity and scope that it is almost impossible for a single performance to fully encompass its complexities of meaning: interpretative cogency is consequently a question of emphasis, which brings with it the inevitable risk that one or more of its elements can be underplayed.
For Mark Elder, conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, the work’s majesty, drama and elation came at the occasional price of reflection and introversion. The nobly unfurling Kyrie was followed by a Gloria of almost reckless excitement and a Credo of rock solid affirmation. The sounds of war that break into the Agnus Dei had a ferocity that ensured the ending was far from consolatory. Elder maintained an urgent momentum throughout, but there were places where he might have held back. The Miserere that briefly robs the Gloria of its might would have been more anguished and effective if taken a fraction slower; the Sanctus was graceful rather than numinous.
However, the technical challenges Beethoven throws to his musicians were superbly met. Lucy Crowe, Paula Murrihy, Allan Clayton and Peter Rose formed the solo quartet, their voices seamlessly blending and beautifully balanced. The orchestral playing was wonderfully vibrant, and the choral singing outstandingly secure and controlled throughout, the polyphony crystal clear over a wide dynamic range.
