Amazon.comLord Nelson was a hero not just to the British but to all Europeans who felt tyrannized by Napoleon. The Hungarian Radio and Television Chorus successfully capture the euphoric mood that prevailed at the premiere of Haydn's Mass for Anguished Times, which took place in September 1800 just as word arrived of Nelson's victory at Aboukir Bay. The work has been the Nelson Mass ever since. Although they sing with robust joyfulness, the chorus's sound is tempered by occasional errant consonants, and the singers pronounce their Latin with soft c's and hard g's, which makes them sound old-fashioned. The modern-instrument Nikolaus Esterházy Sinfonia is arrestingly stern, the strings vibrant, the timps and trumpets prompt, and the organ quite cathedralish for a studio recording. As if she's on fire, whiplash soprano Viktoria Loukianetz shoots out of the chorus to a top B-flat in the Kyrie, but she powers through the famous Gloria, not altogether sensitively. The other soloists tend to pull down at the pitch, so they're a disappointment. Completing the disc is the Little Organ Mass, a simple choral setting dating from 1777--its longest movement is the Benedictus, which is usually the shortest. It is scored for soprano solo and twisting organ obbligato, and in this piece Loukianetz redeems herself to a degree. --Rick Jones