Haydn: Mass, Hob. XXII:12 in B flat major 'Theresienmesse', etc.

February 2008

“Hickox and Collegium Musicum 90 are especially fine in the exultant, springing Gloria and the rough-hewn vigour of the Credo… Led by the sweet toned Janice Watson, the soloists sing with a chamber-musical grace and intimacy in the 'Et incarnatus est' and the Benedictus, while their supplicatory tenderness in the 'Dorna nobis pacem' contrasts with the choir's urgent demands for peace.”

2010

“Hickox generates the physical and spiritual elation essential to this music, calling to mind Haydn's own much-quoted remark that whenever he praised God his heart leapt with joy. In the glorious Theresienmesse of 1799 Hickox's manner is particularly fine in the exultant, springing Gloria and the rough-hewn vigour of the Credo. He understands, too, the Mass's dramatic and symphonic impetus, bringing a powerful cumulative momentum to the sonataform 'Dona nobis pacem' and thrillingly tightening the screws in the closing pages. The choir is placed forward, though never at the expense of orchestral detail, keenly observed by Hickox. His uncommonly well-integrated solo quartet framed by the sweet-toned Janice Watson and the gentle, mellifluous Stephen Varcoe, sings with a chamber-musical grace and refinement in the 'Et incarnatus est' and the Benedictus. And their supplicatory tenderness in the 'Dona nobis pacem' contrasts arrestingly with the choir's urgent demands for peace.
Hickox also captures the peculiar serenity and innocence of the much earlier Missa brevis SanctiJohannis de Deo, or Little Organ Mass, its intimacy enhanced here by the use of solo strings. A disc guaranteed to refresh the spirit.”