Beethoven: Missa Solemnis – review

4 / 5 stars
Schwanewilms/Jahns/LPO and Choir/Eschenbach etc

The latest issue from the London Philharmonic's own label is this idiosyncratic Missa Solemnis from 2008. The conductor is Christoph Eschenbach, and the performance has his trademark fondness for sonic beauty. Surprisingly, for a conductor often associated with slowish speeds, it's also uptempo and volatile. There's real elation in the outer sections of Gloria and Credo and the Agnus Dei, with its vision of impenitent, warring humanity, is tense and querulous. However, the drama comes at the price of genuine introversion when we need it: Beethoven's awestruck contemplation of the incarnation at the centre of the Credo lacks mystery; the Benedictus is gorgeous but rarely numinous. There's fire and commitment in the choral singing and playing, and apart from Annette Jahns's occasionally plummy alto, the soloists are superb.