Composer: Leoš Janáček
Performer: Sara Jakubiak, Susan Bickley, Stuart Skelton, Gábor Bretz, Thomas Trotter, David Stewart, Karstein Askeland, Johannes Wik
Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Edward Gardner
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHSA5165
Release: 2016
Size: 1.04 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Glagolitic Mass
01. Úvod (Introduction)
02. Gospodi pomiluj (Kyrie) (Soprano, Chorus)
03. Slava (Gloria) (Soprano, Tenor, Chorus)
04. Veruju (Credo) (Tenor, Bass, Chorus)
05. Svet (Sanctus) (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Chorus)
06. Agnece Božij (Agnus Dei) (Soloists, Chorus)
07. — [organ solo]
08. Intrada
09. Adagio, JW VI / 5
10. Zdrávas Maria (Hail Mary), JW II / 14
Otcenáš (Our Father) for four-part choir, tenor soloist, organ and harp
11. Otce náš (Vater unser, Our Father)
12. Bud vule tvá (Dein Wille geschehe, Thy will be done)
13 .Chléb náš vezdejší dej nám dnes (Unser täglich Brot gib uns heute, Give us this day our daily bread)
14. A odpust nám naše viny (Und vergib uns unsre Schuld, And forgive us our trespasses)
15. Neuvod nás v pokušení (Führe uns nicht in Versuchung, And lead us not into temptation)
Not only does this collection of orchestral works by Janáček follow two highly praised volumes with such great soloists as Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and James Ehnes, but it also features one of the composer’s most monumental works – with the vividly admired organist Thomas Trotter – along with three contrasting shorter pieces.
The Glagolitic Mass is considered his finest non-operatic work. It was premiered a year after the Sinfonietta – recorded in Volume 1 [CHSA5142] – to critical acclaim. This impressive piece makes full use of the orchestra and chorus, with virtuosic solo parts for tenor and soprano, as well as organ. It is set within a frame of purely orchestral movements in which the Bergen Orchestra and its new Chief Conductor, Edward Gardner, demonstrate with authority their deep empathy with the repertoire.
The album is completed by three highly diverse characteristic works: the mournful Adagio, the Slavonic Otče náš and the deeply personal Zdrávas Maria.
The Czech composer Leos Janácek was an atheist, but commissions and other opportunities to write religious music interested him as ways to realize aspects of his pan-Slavic musical vision. The collection of works on this third in Chandos’ series of orchestral Janácek releases makes sense, for the composer’s sacred music, from the mighty Glagolitic Mass down to small commissions, stands somewhat aside stylistically from the rest of his oeuvre. The highlight here is the Glagolitic Mass, so named for the alphabet in which this Old Church Slavonic adaptation of the traditional mass was written out. The work has a grand sweep through choral polyphony, a virtuoso organ solo (sample the work of Thomas Trotter on track 7, and you may find it worth the admission price by itself), a variety of folk melodies and rhythms, and a grandly operatic treatment of the “Credo.” The work’s dramatic gestures are beautifully realized by the rich voices of soprano Sara Jakubiak and mezzo-soprano Susan Bickley, who serve as foils to the very precise Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and a massed group of choirs. Chandos’ engineering work at the Grieghallen (the smaller works are recorded at Bergen Cathedral, also with profitable results) is a major attraction here, as is the collection of rarely heard choral and orchestral works that round out the program (the final Our Father above all). Listeners may ask themselves whether they want a Glagolitic Mass with a bit more oomph, but this British-Nordic version has much to recommend it.