‘Beethoven put all of his tools, all of his knowledge, all of his spirituality into this piece,’ said conductor Jérémie Rhorer about Beethoven's Missa solemnis in a recent Gramophone interview with David Patrick Stearns. ‘It’s said that compositional technique is not about the number of tools but about knowing how and the right moment to use them. I was always intrigued by the nature of the testament of this musical Everest: how it was built, what it was for, its expression of faith.’

Rhorer's recording of Missa solemnis with soloists including soprano Chen Reiss, mezzo Varduhi Abrahamyan, tenor Daniel Behle, bass Tareq Nazmi, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie and Audi Jugendchorakademie on Alpha is released today. 

If you are interested in comparisons for Rhorer's new recording, among the current prime recommendations for Beethoven's Missa solemnis are Harnoncourt's with Concentus Musicus Wien on Sony (reviewed in August 2016) and Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic (reviewed in April 1962). And if you want to go even deeper into the catalogue, a good place to start is Peter Quantrill's Gramophone Collection article about the work from the December 2020 issue. 

The Nash Ensemble recently celebrated its 60th birthday, and to mark the occasion James Jolly spoke to Artistic Director Amelia Freedman for Gramophone. In the article, Sir Harrison Birtwistle is given the last word: ‘Michael Tippett used to say that the world was divided between those on the side of the angels and those not. In the case of Amelia Freedman and her Nash Ensemble there is no question they stand well over the line of good and are blessed with wings of gold.’

Today sees the release of a new recording on Hyperion of Debussy's String Quartet, Cello Sonata, Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, Violin Sonata and an arrangement of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, featuring cellist Adrian Brendel, pianist Alasdair Beatson, violinist Stephanie Gonley and many more. 

This year, the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina will be widely celebrated with concerts and recordings. Getting in right at the start of the year are the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and Graham Ross with their album 'Palestrina Revealed - Byrd, White, Mundy' for Harmonia Mundi, which not only shines a light on some lesser-known works by Palestrina but also places him in context with music by some of his English contemporaries. 

Sophie Yates's new Chandos recording – 'Harpsichord Music from the Reign of Louis XIV' – is also released today. In his review for Gramophone, Lindsay Kemp writes: 'We know Yates now for a player of poise and sensitivity. Her instrument – a copy of the handsome Vaudry harpsichord in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum – speaks beautifully under her hands with gentle voice and softish attack, even in the thickest registrations.'

'It’s most enjoyable and highly recommended,' wrote Tim Ashley of the Armonico Consort and Christopher Monks's first album dedicated to the music of Francesco Scarlatti, which paired Scarlatti's Dixit Dominus with a Mass. They continue their exploration of Francesco Scarlatti's works with a new recording for Signum of his only surviving oratorio Il Daniele nel Lago de’Leoni.