Mozart and Haydn both
wrote considerable quantities of sacred
music, after all both worked for patrons
(the Archbishop of Salzburg in Mozart’s
case and Prince Esterhazy in Haydn’s)
who required a regular supply of music
for their chapels.
On this disc soprano
Annick Massis and the Colonne Orchestra
present a series of soprano arias extracted
from Mozart and Haydn’s sacred works.
Massis does not have an extensive discography
so this solo recital should have been
very welcome. Unfortunately, I could
not raise too much enthusiasm either
for the programme or for the performances.
The Mozart selection
starts with the well known ‘Laudate
Dominum’ from the Vesperae Solennes
de Confessore, K 339. Given that a choir
was engaged for the disc (the excellent
but underused Choeurs Colonne), it would
have been nice to have included more
of the Vespers than just this famous
snippet. Thankfully, the ‘Exultate Jubilate’
is given complete. The remaining items
though are further excerpts, from the
‘Coronation Mass’ and the ‘Mass in C
minor’. All of these are well known
items and I can understand the desire
to include them, but surely we could
have had a better balance between familiarity
and novelty. As it is, the only unfamiliar
Mozart piece is ‘Dulcissimum conivium’
from the Litany, K 243.
With the Haydn pieces,
the mix is somewhat similar. Massis
sings two items from ‘The Seasons’ and
two from ‘The Creation’. Welcome novelty
is provided by ‘Come se voi paprlasse’
from his rarely performed oratorio,
‘Il ritorno di Tobia’ (written for Vienna
in 1775) and a movement from the ‘Stabat
Mater’.
Of course, such unimaginative
programming can be transcended by the
quality of the performances. After all,
young artists must be allowed to retread
the steps of their elders and re-visit
familiar works. But here, Massis seems
to be somewhat on auto-pilot. The recording
is billed as a live recording, though
there is little evidence of an audience;
in fact I began to wonder whether any
tapes from the dress rehearsal had been
used.
Massis has an attractive,
lyric voice and is known for her performances
in coloratura roles. Her voice has the
right bright, focused qualities for
these pieces and copes well with the
tessitura. But these pieces were written
for virtuosi. Massis, however, rarely
produces brilliance in the more complex,
coloratura passages. The few moments
of great beauty that I found on the
record were in the cooler, lyrical passages.
Massis is well supported
by Daniel Inbal and the Colonne Orchestra.
The orchestra plays in a crisp, lively
style and under Inbal’s secure direction
they produce a well sprung, chamber-like
sound.
I would have liked
to have enjoyed this disc more; we must
hope that Annick Massis swiftly produces
a rather more brilliant recital disc
in the future.
Robert Hugill
Annick Massis (soprano) 