Beethoven: Missa solemnis, Op. 123 Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor & René Jacobs

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Missa solemnis, Op. 123:
• 1 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Kyrie "Kyrie eleison" - "Christie eleison" - "Kyrie eleison" 08:43
• 2 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Gloria "Gloria in excelsis Deo" 02:59
• 3 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Gloria "Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam" 02:32
• 4 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Gloria "Qui tollis peccata mundi" 02:27
• 5 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Gloria "Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris" 02:36
• 6 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Gloria "Quoniam tu solus Sanctus" 06:37
• 7 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Credo "Credo in umum Deum" 03:44
• 8 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Credo "Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto" 04:46
• 9 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Credo "Et resurrexit tertia die" 02:48
• 10 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Credo "Et vitam venturi sæculi" 06:00
• 11 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Sanctus "Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth" - "Hosanna in excelsis" 03:35
• 12 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Sanctus. Präludium 01:24
• 13 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Benedictus "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini" - "Hosanna in excelsis" 09:36
• 14 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Agnus Dei "Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi" 06:41
• 15 Missa solemnis, Op. 123: Agnus Dei "Dona nobis pacem" 07:26
• Total Runtime 01:11:54

Info for Beethoven: Missa solemnis, Op. 123

Written between 1818 and 1823, Beethoven's Missa solemnis was the result of intensive theological and musical research in the library of its dedicatee, Archduke Rudolph of Austria. It is, in Beethoven's own view, his most ambitious composition. On this recording, René Jacobs shows us that it is also his loftiest. This is the work of a composer with deeply held religious sentiments and profound tenderness for humanity, so confident in his artistry that he could create that which goes beyond liturgical form and expresses in musical terms the universality of divine transcendence.

"Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the RIAS Chamber Choir under René Jacobs is musically remarkable. The lively, very transparent and excellently balanced music-making is remarkable. The solo voices are well embedded in the whole and are pleasing. Technically there is nothing to criticize. The sound is brilliant and splendid. And yet: this Missa Solemnis leaves me totally cold. I admire many an instrumental detail that I had not noticed before, I acknowledge the powerful, very professional interpretation and the associated mastery of the material. But I am not happy with this recording. I miss the breath, the constant pulsation and the latent aggressiveness make me rather nervous, I miss the solemnity, I miss warmth and sensuality, and I miss the soul in this ultimately very matter-of-fact interpretation." (pizzicato.lu)

Polina Pastirchak, soprano
Sophie Harmsen, alto
Steve Davislim, tenor
Johannes Weisser, bass
RIAS Kammerchor
Freiburger Barockorchester
Rene Jacobs, conductor

The Freiburger Barockorchester
celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in the 2012/13 season. Today it appears in the leading concert halls, the most prestigious opera houses, and the foremost festivals all over the world. The FBO is often praised for its unique sound and the breadth of an extremely varied repertoire that stretches from Baroque to the music of our time.

Since May 2012, the FBO has been installed in a new concert and rehearsal complex – the Ensemblehaus Freiburg – which it shares with the musicians of the ensemble recherche, a group specialising in sonic research and contemporary creation.

Under the joint artistic director ship of its two Konzertmeisters Gottfried von der Goltz and Petra Müllejans, or under the baton of front-rank conductors, the FBO presents around one hundred performances each year, in a variety of formations ranging from chamber ensemble to opera orchestra. This self-governing ensemble also organises its own subscription concerts at the Konzerthaus in Freiburg, the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, and the Berlin Philharmonie. The Freiburgers’ artistic credo remains unchanged: they aim to be as curious as they are creative, in order to bring their repertoire back to life in the most expressive and vibrant way possible. This implies that the musicians are also capable of appearing as soloists in highly demanding works.

The Freiburger Barockorchester collaborates regularly with leading artists such as René Jacobs and Andreas Staier. It records for harmonia mundi. This privileged relationship has led to a whole series of recordings, some of which have won top awards from the critics, notably the ECHO Klassik Deutscher Musikpreis 2012, Gramophone Award 2012, Edison Classical Music Award 2012, Gramophone Award 2011, ECHO Klassik Deutscher Musikpreis 2011, and Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2009.

Pablo Heras-Casado enjoys an unusually varied conducting career, encompassing the great symphonic and operatic repertoire, historically informed performance, and cutting-edge contemporary scores.

Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St Luke’s (New York) since 2012, he has in recent seasons developed a special rapport with ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago and San Francisco symphony orchestras, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Freiburger Barockorchester, and the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. He has also made significant appearances with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Münchner Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – as well as with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, English National Opera, and the Teatro Real (Madrid). In the 2013/14 season he makes his debuts with the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic. Recognised also for his work with new music, Heras- Casado is a laureate of the 2007 Lucerne Festival conductors’ forum – where he has returned twice to co- direct the festival’s Academy on the invitation of Pierre Boulez – and frequently performs with the Ensemble intercontemporain. He is the holder of the Medalla de Honor of the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation and the Golden Medal of Merit of the Council of Granada, his hometown, while his 2011 DVD of Weill’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny with the Teatro Real won the Diapason d’Or. The present recording marks his debut with harmonia mundi.