Emmanuel Krivine leads a crisply articulated, rhythmically taut, tonally vibrant performance of Mozart’s unfinished Mass, vividly capturing its varied stylistic features and projecting the large choruses and rousing fugal sections with impressive power governed by an ear respectful of the work’s liturgical aspects. The two soprano soloists are excellent, but particularly Sandrine Piau, whose Et incarnatus est glitters with a pleasingly bright tone and charms with its unhurried, ingratiating style. Some listeners may not like her sometimes jerky articulation and overly careful approach to melismatic passages (Camilla Tilling on Archiv–type Q10146 in Search Reviews–is superior here) but the interpretation is one of the more affecting–and intonationally accurate!–you will hear on disc. The choral singing also is sure and stylish and impressive for its ensemble precision in the fast sections.
One of the beauties of this recording is the orchestra, whose period-instrument timbres are well displayed without dominating the chorus. In general the textures here are more clearly detailed than on the very fine McCreesh/Archiv recording, and the chorus and orchestra show a bit more suppleness and agility, but McCreesh’s greater sense of occasion in the Kyrie and stronger hand in the big fugal choruses may appeal more to some listeners. Interestingly, a comparison of timings between those two performances shows nearly identical readings from movement to movement–but somehow Krivine’s seems sprightlier.
I’m glad I don’t have to choose between McCreesh and Krivine (and then there’s also the reference Herreweghe reissue on Harmonic Mundi!–type Q9780 in Search Reviews), but if I had to, I’d decide according to the soloists, and you can’t beat Connolly and Tilling. (Interested listeners will note that Krivine uses the 1983 Bärenreiter edition, with a few minor exceptions.)