An important anniversary year of a famous composer always brings out recording projects that purport to offer something unusual or rare or somehow different from the mainstream releases. Of course, many don’t live up to their billing, or worse, fall short in purely musical value. This is one of the more successful and thoughtfully programmed collections to appear so far in Mozart’s 250th birthday year, and although many of the works featured have been recorded multiple times–and quite well–the high quality of the performances here, and the presence of the truly and inexplicably “rare” oratorio Davidde penitente, makes this set a very attractive and musically satisfying listen.
Of course, not everything here is top-drawer Mozart–several of the pieces are relatively early works–but even the second-tier pieces readily reveal the trademarks of genius, whether in the orchestral writing (the tidily scored Regina coeli K. 108, from 1771), the mastery of polyphony (Misericordias Domini), or, of course, in the unsurpassed melodic invention, evident throughout, from the earliest to latest compositions. What’s interesting is how you can pick up compositional devices in works Mozart wrote in Salzburg in 1771 that are still recognizable in his last choral pieces written in Vienna 20 years later.
As mentioned, the performances are very good, especially the finely executed, energetic, vibrant choral ensemble singing and the equally dynamic and tightly-knit orchestral accompaniment, expertly conducted by Richard Pugsley. In these areas, there are no weaknesses. My only disappointment lies in the vocal solos, where in several cases (the two Litanies, in particular) the technical demands of Mozart’s arias just prove too much for the non-professional singers drawn from the ranks of the choir. While certainly not fatal to the recording’s overall high value (the choral singing is really terrific!), more polished execution of the substantial and significant solo sections would have prompted an even more enthusiastic recommendation for these richly rewarding, generously programmed CDs. And when the competition for several of the works in question comes from the likes of Barbara Bonney, Christoph Prégardien, Uwe Heilmann, and Thomas Hampson, the bar is set fairly high.
That said, it’s wonderful to have a new and very solid performance of Mozart’s Davidde penitente. A reworking of music from his unfinished C minor Mass, with some additional original material, this 45-minute piece (with libretto by da Ponte) features some very impressive solo and choral music, including some challenging, operatic-style arias. Although it’s labeled an “oratorio”, it doesn’t have the depth and cohesive dramatic import of the genre’s great masterpieces by Haydn or Handel. Nevertheless, this performance, with some nice contributions by soprano Kathy Schuman, is a highlight–and the work absolutely deserves respect from today’s choirs looking to celebrate the best of Mozart’s vocal music.
The recording, made in Gloriae Dei Cantores’ home venue, the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, Massachusetts, is expertly engineered, offering realistic, detailed choral sound, properly balanced with the orchestra, in an acoustic that’s warm yet enhanced with an enlivening resonance–ideal for this music. This is a set that should prove attractive to all Mozart lovers, especially valuable for its gathering together of rare works of real merit rather than rarely recorded works that should remain so. This is a real treat–an ambitious and justly rewarding addition to the Mozart recording catalog. [3/23/2006]
