Zoltán Kodaly’s lyric-dramatic Missa Brevis is one of the delights of choral literature. It was prepared by the composer in two versions, one with full orchestra and one with organ. It is the latter that is offered here, and the version that is still in need of a professional, thoroughly satisfactory performance. This reading is quite accomplished, as you would expect from this source; the problem here is the use of boys for the solo parts. This is particularly bothersome in the alto solo “Qui tollis peccata mundi”, which cries out for the fuller body and tone of an adult mezzo-soprano voice. On the other hand, the famous choir of men and boys do well by the choral sections, and the organ support is fine until the closing “Ite, missa est” where chord progressions are allowed to bury the melody. The Missa is the longest and largest work on this CD, but the big news to many listeners might be Paul Wingfield’s reconstruction of a Mass in E-flat by Leoš Janácek. The composer discarded this work, yet many of its ideas were incorporated into the well-known Slavonic Mass. It proves an amiable, exceptionally modest piece, far less memorable than the composer’s later work for chorus and orchestra, but worth hearing, especially if you normally like Janácek’s music. The engineers have done a good job of capturing the large-scale acoustics of Westminster Cathedral, but we are still looking for a definitive performance of the Missa in the organ version. Until that time, the splendid Hungaroton recording of the orchestra version will do.
