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Musica Sacra - Haydn: Masses / King's College Choir, Et Al


Release Date: 08/12/1997 
Label:  London/Decca Double Decker Catalog #: 455020   Spars Code: ADD 
Composer:  Franz Joseph Haydn
Performer:  Wilfred Brown,  Helen Watts,  Sylvia Stahlman,  Simon Preston,   ... 
Conductor:  Sir David Willcocks,  George Guest
Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra,  Cambridge King's College Choir,  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,   ... 
Number of Discs: 2 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 2 Hours 21 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

This set is offered at a special price: 2 discs for the price of 1.
The masses of Joseph Haydn have received a great deal of attention over the years, including some intriguing embellishments by students of the composer. This recording aims to get back to some of the Haydn's original vision.
For instance, 'Missa in angustiis,' also known as the "Nelson Mass" because it's debut coincided with the Admiral's great victory over the French, was written for a simple orchestra featuring bassoons (doubling the bass line), trumpets, timpani, solo organ and strings--as appear on this recording. It wasn't until years later that pupils added independent bassoon parts, as well as horns and wind instruments. Strikingly different from many other Read more recordings, adherence to the original orchestration is definitely a point in favor of this collection.
In light of the elaborate masses composed in his later years, the inclusion of 'Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo' ("Little Organ Mass") is a pleasant surprise. Written for a small chapel of the Order at Eisenstadt, where the organ loft could fit only two violins and a continuo, it is by contrast a beautifully simple piece relying heavily on the chapel's little baroque organ. Read less

Works on This Recording

1.
Mass in D minor, H 22 no 11 "Nelsonmesse" by Franz Joseph Haydn
Performer:  Wilfred Brown (Tenor), Helen Watts (Alto), Sylvia Stahlman (Soprano),
Simon Preston (Organ), Tom Krause (Baritone)
Conductor:  Sir David Willcocks
Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra,  Cambridge King's College Choir
Period: Classical 
Written: 1798; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 1962 
Venue:  Chapel, King's College, Cambridge 
Length: 40 Minutes 14 Secs. 
Language: Latin 
2.
Missa in tempore belli, H 22 no 9 "Paukenmesse" by Franz Joseph Haydn
Performer:  Helen Watts (Alto), April Cantelo (Soprano), Stephen Cleobury (Organ),
Barry McDaniel (Bass), Robert Tear (Tenor)
Conductor:  George Guest
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  Cambridge St. John's College Choir
Period: Classical 
Written: 1796; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 1969 
Venue:  Chapel, St. John's College, Cambridge 
Length: 40 Minutes 38 Secs. 
Language: Latin 
3.
Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, H 22 no 7 "Kleine Orgelmesse" by Franz Joseph Haydn
Performer:  John Scott (Organ), Jennifer Smith (Soprano)
Conductor:  George Guest
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  Cambridge St. John's College Choir
Period: Classical 
Written: by 1778; Eszterhazá, Hungary 
 Date of Recording: 1977 
Venue:  Chapel, St. John's College, Cambridge 
Length: 19 Minutes 29 Secs. 
Language: Latin 
4.
Mass in B flat major, H 22 no 14 "Harmoniemesse" by Franz Joseph Haydn
Performer:  Joseph Rouleau (Bass), Alexander Young (Tenor), Helen Watts (Alto),
Erna Spoorenberg (Soprano), Brian Runnett (Organ)
Conductor:  George Guest
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  Cambridge St. John's College Choir
Period: Classical 
Written: 1802; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 1966 
Venue:  Chapel, St. John's College, Cambridge 
Length: 40 Minutes 36 Secs. 
Language: Latin 

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