New recordings of Bruckner’s Masses are comparatively rare. This disc juxtaposes the early Mass in C major (he wrote it in 1842 at the age of 17), scored for alto solo, two horns and organ, with the Mass in E minor, from 25 years later – the second of three mature settings – and composed for eight-part chorus and wind orchestra. The soloist in the earlier work (and two mercifully short sacred songs) is Ludmila Kuznetsova. Her voice – quavery and unmodulated – will not suit all tastes. She has a tendency towards sharpness when forcing the tone and her German diction is ambivalent, to say the least. She fares better when singing in Latin, although the Mass in C is a primitive and dreary piece. The horns are seriously under-employed and the organ part is as dull as ditchwater.
Much more satisfactory (and really the only reason to buy this disc) is the performance of the Mass in E minor, a spacious and serene work. The Russian State Symphonic Cappella are fresh-voiced and warmly homogeneous, blessed with beautifully resonant basses. Although Bruckner relegates the accompaniment to the background, the orchestra provide subtle and positive support. The only two minus points are an unpleasant intonational souring three-quarters of the way through the Credo and an ugly edit point a minute or so into track 6. For a blemish-free performance of equal stature I would recommend the all-Bruckner disc by the Corydon Singers under Matthew Best.
A mixed impression, then – and there are finer Bruckner choral discs.'