Haydn: Mass, Hob. XXII:11 in D minor 'Nelsonmesse' (Missa in angustiis 'Nelson Mass')

“What is very obvious is the vigour and general sense of responsiveness to the music from choir, orchestra and soloists. Sylvia Stahlman in the important soprano part sings with a mixture of firmness and agility as the part demands.It is good to have these recordings from what was very much a vintage period for the King’s College Choir...the inclusion of the Croft is one of the main attractions of the present disc” MusicWeb International, January 2013

“Many excellent recordings abound but none has such a particular drawing points as on the disc released here, which features the treble Jonty Ward singing the soprano solos. His tone is warm and even, with a hint of a 'continental' flavour. His tuning is spot-on throughout...this is a polished disc of great music and deserves to be widely heard.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012

“This latest account...is less punchy, more liturgical than some, but scarcely less intent in purpose. Instead of the usual operatic soloist in the florid solo soprano passages, we have a remarkably secure and expressive boy treble in Jonty Ward, while the Choir of New College sing with all their usual focus.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 ****

“The trump card in Harnoncourt’s new recording of Haydn’s Nelson Mass is soprano Luba Orgonasova: a thrilling voice with a dark Slavonic glint…capable of real delicacy and tenderness…” Gramophone Magazine

“Another fine performance. True to form, Gardiner exults more fiercely than anyone in Gloria, with hungry rhythms and extreme dynamic contracts, and brings a unique hushed tension to the 'Crucifixus'.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2008

“Dating respectively from 1798 and 1799, the Nelsonmesse and the Theresienmesse are the third and fourth of the six masses written for the nameday of the Princess Esterházy. That was a period during the Napoleonic wars when Prince Esterházy, Nikolaus II had economised by dismissing his Harmonie or windband. Even so, in 1798 for the Nelsonmesse, Haydn, seeking to reflect the mood of the times (hence the official title, Missa in angustiis – 'Mass in straitened times'), brought in three trumpets and timpani, and their impact is all the greater when set against strings and organ alone.
That heightened contrast is a point which comes out with thrilling attack in Gardiner's performance at the very opening of the Kyrie.
This vigorous Allegro, typical of Haydn but totally untypical of Mass-settings, introduces martial fanfares, which recur through the whole work. Though Haydn composed the Mass in a mere 53 days in the summer of 1798, just when Nelson was winning the Battle of Aboukir, Haydn knew nothing of that victory till later, and the Nelson association dates from two years later when the admiral visited Eisenstadt, and the Mass was given in his honour.
Gardiner's treatment of the fanfares offers only the first of dozens of examples where his crisp, incisive manner highlights the extraordi- nary originality of this work. The Theresienmesse brings similar revelations. Here, in addition to trumpets and timpani, Haydn scored for two clarinets, and though this is a less sharply dramatic, more lyrical work, a martial flavour is again introduced. There are surprises aplenty, as in the sudden silence of the orchestra in the setting of the word 'miserere' at the end of the 'Gratias agimus tibi', or the setting of 'Et incarnatus' in the Credo in the rare key (in this context) of B flat minor, and 'Et vitam venturi' set in a galloping 6/8 time or the bold, square opening of Agnus Dei in bare octaves at an unapologetic forte. Such points must have startled early listeners, and Gardiner's treatment makes one appreciate that with new ears.
In this respect he even outshines Richard Hickox, whose prize-winning Mass series for Chandos brings equally enjoyable performances of both these works, just as energetic and a degree warmer, thanks in part to the recording acoustic. Gardiner's team, on the other hand, has markedly cleaner separation of textures, with soloists and chorus more sharply defined.
Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir as ever sings with passion, brilliance and fine precision, and his soloists are all outstanding, fresh and youthfulsounding with firm clear voices.
As a splendid, very apt bonus there's a superb account of the magnificent ceremonial C major Te Deum.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The British Admiral had ousted the Napoleonic fleet at the Battle of the Nile just as Haydn was in the middle of writing his Nelson Mass. Although the news could not have reached him until after its completion, Haydn's awareness of the international situation was expressed in the work's subtitle, 'Missa in Augustiis', or 'Mass in times of fear'. With its rattle of timpani, pungent trumpet calls, and highly strung harmonic structure, there's no work of Haydn's which cries out so loudly for recording on period instruments; and it's the distinctive sonority and highly charged tempos of this performance which set it apart. The dry, hard timpani and long trumpets bite into the dissonance of the opening Kyrie, and the near vibrato-less string playing is mordant and urgent. The fast-slow-fast triptych of the Gloria is set out in nervously contrasted speeds, and the Credo bounces with affirmation.
Just as the choral singing is meticulously balanced with instrumental inflexion, so the soloists have been chosen to highlight the colours in Pinnock's palette.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Naxos offers a spacious sound, which is excellent because the impression of a church acoustic is right for the music. He uses the original instrumental score-for strings, three trumpets, timpani and organ-but he attenuates the ascerbic impact of this combination somewhat by playing down the brass and percussion.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2001