Haydn: Nelson Mass / Vivaldi: Gloria

Haydn: Nelson Mass / Vivaldi: Gloria

Lord Nelson Mass, rivalled primarily by the Bernstein/NYPO and Colin Davis Bavarian RSO versions/Philips (bigger but not quite better, I think). Willcocks was a wonderful Haydn conductor. The cathedral drenched sound was explosive in its day and the LSO far from anemic. Not a whiff of period practice, and the wartime atmosphere/anxiety of 1796 is pervasive. Emergency is conveyed by the pervasive D Minor mood. Three of the soloists are excellent, especially Helen Watts and Tom Krause. I am less enamored of Sylvia Stahlman, whose voice sounds too opaque c.f. Ameling, Popp and Donath. To be fair, this recording probably antedated all three. (Stahlman then sang in the finale of the Mahler fourth symphony with Georg Solti and the RCOA). The Vivaldi Gloria is acceptable but not as convincing as Marriner's later ASMF version with Barbara Hendricks.
Country USA
Manufacturer London
Binding Audio CD
UPCs 028942114623
EANs 0028942114623
ReleaseDate 1990-10-25