The Missa solemnis, which should be a special event, now comes round with the regularity of a soap-opera's signature tune. And I suppose there is a fair chance that the next recording to appear will also be conducted by Karajan: this version, from 1966, was neither his first nor by any means his last. In view of this multiplicity of recordings, it is well to be as clear as possible about the particular merits of each, and in this instance the answer is simple: it lies in the soloists. The shining soprano of Gundula Janowitz, then at its purest in tone and controlled with practised mastery, irradiates the whole performance. In the lyrical passages, such as the ''Gratias agimus tibi'', Wunderlich is equally distinguished, while Ludwig and Berry are never less than admirable. The orchestral playing, too, is magnificent as one would expect, with a fine violin soloist recorded so as to remain the leading spirit throughout the Benedictus. Drawbacks are the unsatisfactory balance of the choir, with tremulous sopranos and muffled recording, and, frankly, Karajan's view of some of the speeds: the Credo, instead of being a march of faith, is an easy-going back-home-at-nightfall saunter, and as a consequence ''Et vitam venturi'' opens halfway to the Land of Nod.
The Coronation Mass, by contrast, is if anything excessively hard-driven. Here again the soloists are excellent but the choir no better than average. And how sternly determined they sound, snapping out ''pax'' and ''osanna'', almost as if annoyed about it; I can't believe the spirit of Mozart was with them in this.'