Delius: A Mass of Life – Prelude and Idyll – Janice Watson (Sop.) – Catherine Wym-Rodgers (Mezzo-Sop.) – Andrew Kennedy (Tenor) – Alan Opie (Baritone) – The Bach Choir – Bournemouth Sym. Orchestra – David Hill (Cond.) – NAXOS 8.572861-62 (118 mins)
Of Germanic stock, Frederick Delius (1862-1934) is still regarded as an English composer through and through, but a considerable number of his works are more cosmopolitan than anything else.
Among his output one finds American, Norwegian and French compositions, and even his so-called English pieces are mostly influenced by foreign sources. A Mass of Life, his greatest choral work, is one such example.
This huge composition dates from 1904-1905, but most of the concluding section was written in 1899. Although a substantial portion was premiered in Munich in 1908, it was left to Sir Thomas Beecham to give the first complete performance at Queen’s Hall in London on June 7, 1909.
The legendary conductor was completely bowled over by the piece, and he remained its stout champion up to his death in 1961. Indeed, Beecham was the man who performed A Mass of Life with almost frequent regularity, and his interpretation remains the benchmark for all future recordings.
At the time of the composition Delius was at the height of his powers and also enthralled by the writings of the poet and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. But it was only when conductor Fritz Cassirer assembled together a selection of passages from Also Sprach Zarathustra, that Delius decided to pour his admiration of the poet into music.
Delius, like Nietzsche, had no religious creed and despised Christianity and its hopeful promise of life eternal. What he embraced was the idea of an all-powerful human being able to solve all of life’s adversities and capable of total domination.
And this is what this Mass is all about. Musically, the piece is full of inspiring ideas and stirring choral writing, and Delius’s boundless imagination captures the terrestrial power of Nietzsche’s text with intensity and true dramatic instinct.
The Prelude and Idyll for baritone and orchestra, based on the early unperformed opera Margot la Rouge, completes an issue of adventure – a most rewarding addition to the Delius discography, albeit the ordinary booklet which could have been much more detailed.
Respighi: Church Windows – Brazilian Impressions – Rossiniana – Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra – JoAnn Falletta – NAXOS 8.557711 (65 mins)
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) might be considered the catalyst to the development of Italian symphonic music that flourished during the first part of the 20th century, a breakthrough that produced such important composers as Alfredo Casella, Goffredo Petrassi and Gian Francesco Malipiero.
Respighi had the good fortune to travel both to St Petersburg and Berlin during his formative years, where he studied privately with Rimsky-Korsakov and other eminent German teachers that left a great impression on his later works.
His first international success came with Fontane di Roma of 1916, the first of a Roman trilogy of symphonic poems on which Respighi’s fame lies. But these works apart, the composer left a considerable number of other pieces in other forms, notably ballet music, opera, chamber works and a distinguished number of songs.
Introduced to Gregorian Chant by his wife Elsa, Respighi immediately set to work on two wonderful compositions inspired by this genre. The results were the Concerto Gregoriano and Vetrate di Chiesa, one of the pieces on this CD.
Dating from 1925, the work is in four movements: The Flight into Egypt; St Michael the Archangel; The Little Flower of St Francis; and St Gregory the Great. In it, Respighi displays all the brilliance of the orchestra in full throttle.
Harmonically daring and rhythmically exciting, this suite has a palette of sounds that are vividly imaginative and strikingly colourful, and the effect on the listener is nothing short of breathtaking.
A year after the completion of Vetrate di Chiesa, Respighi was invited to Brazil to conduct and perform at a number of concerts. Impressioni Brasiliane, composed for the Rio Philharmonic Orchestra, was the result of this visit. True to his great gifts of orchestration, Respighi etched out three movements full of indigenous melodic and rhythmic shapes that one can translate into a means of fun and relaxation.
The jaunty Rossiniana also dates from 1925, and is based on a set of piano pieces by Rossini, which the composer wrote as a tribute to the Italian song and dance. An accomplished and consistently rewarding disc, supplemented by top-drawer sound and detailed presentation, both of which lend further distinction to a highly desirable anthology.
Haydn: Mariazellermesse in C – Missa in tempore belli Paukenmesse in C – Trinity Choir – Rebel Baroque Orchestra – J Owen Burdick (Cond.) – NAXOS 8.572124 (72 mins)
One of Austria’s greatest, if not the greatest composer, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) excelled in all genres of music. Indeed, he is considered as the father of the symphony and the string quartet as we know them today.
However, his peerless abilities are also immaculately displayed in hundreds of other compositions, many of which are still performed to this day. His sacred works include some of the most exalting and moving music written during the classical era, and topping the list of this genre are the 14 Masses that Haydn wrote between 1766 and 1802.
The two pieces on this Volume 4 of Naxos’s ongoing series dedicated to the composer’s masses are 14 years apart. The Mariazellermesse in C, often referred to as the Second Missa Cellensis, dates back to 1782. It was commissioned by Anton Liebe de Kreutzer, a retired military officer, to be performed for the commemoration of his ennoblement.
This work soon became one of Haydn’s great successes and, although it intermingles familiar strategies and elements of symphonic style, its inspiring vigour, brilliant choral writing, and refreshing and forward-looking melodies have established it in the repertoire ever since.
The 1796 Paukenmesse (Mass in Time of War), as suggested by its original title, was inspired by contemporary events. The 1793 execution of Louis XVI had pushed Europe into a bloody war that was still ongoing, and Austria and its territories found themselves under attack.
It was against this background that the Paukenmesse was composed, so it is no surprise that Haydn resorted to the use of the timpani at the very opening and to dramatic extremes that recall the sounds of combat.
Still, its frequent integration of solo and chorus, added to the almost constant invocation to God for the suffering to end, make this Mass one of the most innovative and expressive pieces in all of Haydn’s sacred output.
The magnificent renditions serve the music to perfection and all the radiance and daring harmonies of the score are brought out with delicate transparency. A truly fine addition to the ever growing Haydn discography, in state-of-the-art sound and presentation.
These CDs were made available for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99, St John Street, Valletta.