The pan-continental
Chamber Choir of Europe recorded a number of
Mozart works for the Dutch budget label Brilliant as part of a large
Mozart edition, and these performances have been reissued several times, singly and in groups. The choir always has an attractively clear sound that comes from the youth of its members, and this is one of the group's most distinctive if not necessarily one that will appeal to every listener. Conductor
Nicol Matt generally falls close to the middle of the road, but here he runs counter to type among recordings of
Mozart's "Great" Mass in C minor, K. 427. The modest dimensions he gives the work, aided by close-up microphone placement that brings out individual voices in the group, are fresh and cogently thought out. They put the focus on the solos, especially the soprano part written for
Mozart's new bride, Constanze. Annotator David Doughty's suggestion that the mass might have remained incomplete because
Mozart's relationship to Constanze "had already taken a downward turn" is not supported by any evidence, and indeed there are much better explanations of why
Mozart might have left the mass unfinished (it is missing the second half of the Credo, part of the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei, but an unidentified orchestration of the Credo and Sanctus is used here).
Matt's extremely slow tempos are another matter. It's not that he is trying for an exceptionally grandiose conception of the work; quite the opposite, in fact, and the effect may be a bit like hearing the music in slow motion. First soprano Valentina Farcas is a gifted Mozartian, but she doesn't get the chance to grow into Constanze's sweeping, operatic arias. Instead, the whole mass takes on a meditative cast that is rare in any recording of
Mozart. Try it, you might like it, or not, but in any event the disc won't break the bank.