Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ferenc Fricsay :: Mozart: Great Mass in C Minor K427 and Haydn: Te Deum Ferenc Fricsay

Fricsay's Magnificent Mozart & Haydn

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 06/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's very gratifying to see that the other reviewers share my great fondness for this CD. DG has given these performances exceptional sound in transferring them to CD (in both cases, they are actually superior to the original LPs). Fricsay is simply transcendent in this eloquent 1959 account of Mozart's un-finished Great Mass in C minor - this is the finest stereo version I have heard. In fact, other than his concerto accompaniments for pianist Clara Haskil, I think this is Fricsay's finest accomplishment as a Mozartean (Fricsay's Mozart opera & symphony recordings were not at the same exalted level). The soloists here, especially the heavenly soprano voice of Maria Stader, are all superb, and the choir of St. Hedwig's Cathedral is magnificent (Stader and this same choir were also sensationally good in DG's earlier recording of the Brahms Requiem under Fritz Lehmann).



The only other version of the Mozart I have kept is the fine 1950's mono Epic LP set, with Rudolf Moralt conducting the Vienna Symphony & Vienna Chamber Choir. That set had Teresa Stich-Randall (a very fine but very different type of soprano than Stader), Hildegard Rossl-Majdan (I actually prefer her mezzo to Hertha Topper's here with Fricsay), tenor Waldemar Kmentt and baritone Walter Raninger. While over-all I prefer Fricsay's, this Moralt-led reading is very appealing in a smaller-scale, more Viennese sort of way, and it includes the Agnus Dei (omitted here by Fricsay). The Moralt has been re-issued outside the U. S. on the Retrospective CD label.



Haydn's wonderful, jubilant Te Deum is a fairly late work (1800) and is more up-beat and joyeous than the Mozart. Fricsay was a wonderful Haydn conductor, and this 1960 reading is one of his best - and it's LIVE! It was recorded in the same venue as the Mozart with Fricsay's beloved Berlin Radio Symphony (formerly called the RIAS Symphony - Radio in the American Sector), but with a different choral group (the RIAS Chamber Choir & North German Radio Choir). It only lasts 9 minutes, but every one of them is superb!



Highly recommended.



Jeff Lipscomb"

Mozarts Kyrie is a treasure

Ernest Boehm | Des Plaines, IL United States | 07/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a fan of Mozart Masses, even though I am an athiest they are so beautiful in sound and construction. Mozart's use of soloist and choir are stunning. My favorite piece of music ever, the one which still send shivers down my spine every time I hear it, is the Kyrie. It starts with the choir singing kyrie elleison and then is followed by mezzo-saprano then the tenor then the base resounds Christi followed by this high pitched saprano answering Christi Elleison. I have yet hear one phrase in music that shares this purity of genius. The whole mass is beatiful."

Magnificent choral singing

John Grabowski | USA | 08/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I were an aspiring singer I'd listen to this recording day and night. I'd sleep with it under my pillow. I'd study, learn, memorize. This is some of the finest singing I've ever heard, and demonstrates Fricsay truly was one of the greatest conductors ever.



I hate to merely say "me too" to all of that's written by others here, but I agree with everything said about this wonderful recording. Fricsay is beyond criticism and handles the voices here in a way that has to be heard to be believed...just the right balance to passion and control. The clarity is astonishing as well, and the soloists shine. The orchestra is first rate, and the conductor really understands the *structure* of the work, better than anyone else I've ever heard. Once again DG Originals emerges as the performance to get, and at a great price, too. Their reissue program has been so superior up till now, and this recording continues that tradition. Fricsay was truly one of the most gifted conductors of that period, even if he wasn't one of the biggest marquee names. A pity he is no longer with us, but at least he left us many "desert island" recordings to treasure."