Let's put aside the fact that the music on this disc has virtually nothing to do with what the title suggests--works written or performed by Mozart in Mannheim--and just enjoy what really is here: a huge mass by the distinguished director of the renowned Mannheim court orchestra (1753-78), and three Mozart choruses refitted with sacred texts to rescue them from the obscurity assured by the failure of the play, Thamos, King of Egypt, for which they originally were written. The mass, at 35 minutes, is a substantial work, with an opening that sounds more like an opera overture than a prelude to a sacred service. However, this reflects what then had become known as the "Mannheim style", taking full advantage of the dramatic possibilities of a gigantic and very well-trained orchestra and a near-theatrical tradition for presentation of church music. Other than for its grand-ness, however, Ignaz Holzbauer's music isn't particularly distinctive or memorable. This isn't to say it's not skillfully written, with an ear heavily tilted toward an audience that expects action and purposeful momentum. Here is a composer who once impressed Mozart (who indeed visited Mannheim) with his "good church style", but who was better known in his time for his stage works. The overpowering orchestral statements, big crescendos, and generally emphatic style is testament to this, and we have to assume that subtlety was not one of Holzbauer's strong suits.

Mozart, on the other hand, was a master of all things theatrical, from the most subtle to the most overtly powerful or even scary, and even in these rather uneventful choruses we can hear the difference between the genius and the competent professional. Supposedly, Mozart's revisions to these pieces (following the unsuccessful Vienna premiere) were influenced by things he heard on his Mannheim visit (hence the shaky rationale for the disc's title), but as part of Mozart's oeuvre, there's nothing to place them above his more functional stage music of the 1770s. The performances here feature a well-trained, technically polished chorus and very fine soloists, supported by an exceptionally responsive orchestra that knows the meaning of ensemble precision--and together with conductor Jügen Rettenmaier they create incredible energy and excitement in music that less-qualified forces would simply mangle and muddle. The acoustics of the large recording space (Basilika St. Peter, Dillingen/Donau) tend to obstruct choral detail, but we certainly get lots of dynamic impact--exactly what Holzbauer, his orchestra, and his audience would have wanted.

--David Vernier