As with his well-received Beethoven Symphony cycle, David Zinman offers a fresh and compelling take on the Missa solemnis featuring brisk tempos, lively phrasing, and lighter than usual sonorities. Zinman’s avoidance of heaviness is quite refreshing, and his textural clarity gives Beethoven’s challenging Mass an immediacy that’s quite welcome. The smoothly flowing Kyrie, the buoyant, life-affirming Credo, and the stern Agnus Dei (featuring first-rate singing from Luba Orgonasova, Anna Larson, Rainer Trost, and Franz-Josef Selig) followed by a festive Dona nobis pacem are the highlights of this moving performance. The Gloria falls short of this level, lacking the intensity of the best versions. This is partially the result of a recording that places the timpani far back in the sonic picture, muting its impact. But Zinman himself is less inclined to passionate fervor in this movement (as well as in the Pleni sunt coeli section of the Sanctus). Nevertheless, with its excellent choral singing and committed orchestral playing, this is a highly persuasive rendition of Beethoven’s late masterpiece, strongly recommended to those who love this work, and especially to those who find it impenetrable.
