Written between 1818 and 1823, the result of intensive theological and musical research in the library of its dedicatee, Archduke Rudolph of Austria, the Missa solemnis is, in Beethoven’s own view, his most ambitious composition. In this recording, René Jacobs shows us that it is also his loftiest, the work of a composer with deeply held religious sentiments and profound tenderness for humanity, so confident in his artistry that he could create a work that goes beyond liturgical form and expresses in musical terms the universality of divine transcendence.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN [1770-1827] · Kyrie Kyrie eleison - Christie eleison - Kyrie eleison (8'43) · Gloria Gloria in excelsis Deo (2'59) · Gloria Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam (2'32) · Gloria Qui tollis peccata mundi (2'27) · Gloria Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris (2'36) · Gloria Quoniam tu solus Sanctus (6'37) · Credo Credo in umum Deum (3'44) · Credo Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto (4'46) · Credo Et resurrexit tertia die (2'48) · Credo Et vitam venturi sæculi (6'00) · Sanctus Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth - Hosanna in excelsis (3'35) · Sanctus Präludium (1'24) · Sanctus Benedictus Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini - Hosanna in excelsis (9'36) · Agnus Dei Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi (6'41) · Agnus Dei Dona nobis pacem (7'26)
