Charles Gounod - St. Cecilia Mass (Igor Markevitch)

Information

Composer: Charles Gounod

• Messe solennelle de Sainte Cécile

Irmgard Seefried, soprano
Gerhard Stolze, tenor
Hermann Uhde, bass

Czech Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra
Igor Markevitch, conductor

Date: 1965
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4777114

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

In his History of Music (1886) W. S. Rockstro assured readers that Gounod was a thoroughly earnest composer, and added that with a man of his undoubted artistic aptitude ''earnestness means a great deal''. Whatever the truth about that, there is no doubt that Gounod also wrote a very funny Mass. The humour, which is of a delicate kind in the curtsey-dropping Kyrie, broadens in the Gloria and becomes uproarious in the Credo. The tune of the opening is so good that EG, reviewing the original issue, thought it must have been written by a Beatle. It seems Markevitch enjoys it too, for he makes it last twice as long as usual. There follows the Sanctus which was possibly written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and in the Agnus Dei the ''Miserere'' swings along with the broadest of smiles reassuring us that there is nothing to worry about really. Still to come is a grand finale consisting of three jolly prayers, one where we have to look solemn because it's for the Church, another where with pipes and drums we intercede on behalf of the Armed Forces, and a third, for the Nation, where everybody can join in a fortissimo unison, while the trumpets sound and the big drum goes diddly-pom. The earnestness is delicious.

So is this performance, with a splendid choir and orchestra, a characterful trio of soloists, and Markevitch, who is earnest too, ensuring that all is done with a straight face, which of course makes it all the better. The recording still sounds remarkably well, but 50 minutes is rather short value for a CD nowadays. Perhaps Gounod's ghost whispered "Follow that!"

-- Gramophone

More reviews:

http://www.classicstoday.com/review/gounods-saint-cecilia-mass-reference-recording-no-1

http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=5385

http://www.amazon.com/Solennelle-Cecile-SEEFRIED-STOLZE-MARKEVITCH/dp/B000SSPL3U

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Charles Gounod (17 June 1818 – 17 October or 18 October 1893) was a French composer. He attended the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied under Fromental Halévy and Pierre Zimmerman. Gounod is best known for his Ave Maria, based on a work by Bach, as well as his opera Faust; another opera by Gounod still performed is Roméo et Juliette. Though his reputation began to fade even before he died, he is still generally regarded as a major figure in nineteenth century French music. Stylistically, he was a conservative whose influence nevertheless extended to Bizet, Saint-Saëns, and Massenet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Gounod
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/charles-gounod-mn0000153981/biography

***

Igor Markevitch (July 27, 1912 – March 7, 1983) was a composer and conductor who was born in Kiev. Markevitch studied at the École Normale in Paris under both Cortot and Nadia Boulanger; later, he studied conducting with Pierre Monteux and Hermann Scherchen. As a conductor, he was much admired for his interpretations of the French, Russian and Austro-German repertory, and of twentieth-century music in general. In the late '90s, his recordings came back into demand in re-release, and even his compositions were finding a small but interested market and were praised anew for their originality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Markevitch
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/igor-markevitch-mn0002057400

-------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!