Search - Gounod, Lorengar, Hoppe :: St Cecilia Mass

A Heavenly Sonic Experience

Jim Grigsby | Indianapolis, IN USA (but I am a Southener !) | 10/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After having this recording on LP for years (Angel S 36214) I am thrilled to see it on CD at last. Although I have several other recordings, yes some digital recordings, I cannot say that they come close to the sheer religious emotion that this recording can bring. Although the organ is not as clear as in the digital recordings, the overall sonics of the Church of St.Roch is outstanding. This is one of the finest and most played recording in my vast collection of lp's and cannot wait to hear it on CD without the cracks and pops on my rather worn record. With the tremendous amount of natural ambiance, I cannot wait to hear it with my matrix decorder for surround sound."

Fine, but not the best

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 04/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I disagree with a previous reviewer that the Pretre recording is inferior to this. For me, the ungainly, Germanically throaty tenor of Heinz Hoppe quite spoils the elegance and delicacy of the movements he sings in and Laurence Dale is far more in style and pleasing on the ear. The pacing is broader and more majestic in the Pretre - surprising for a conductor who was too often choppy and rushed in his tempi - and the sound, while not as detailed as in the Hartemann set, is grand and spacious. Both soprano soloists are lovely but I find Hendricks' silvery, shimmering tone marginally more ethereal than that of Lorengar. (There is no doubt, however, that Crass is preferable to Lafont in the baritone part - not that the latter lets the side down.)



The couplings might decide which you go for, however; if you a complete work rather than various Gounod "bon-bons", then Barbirolli's "Petite Symphonie" will be what you want; otherwise I'd stick with the HMV compilation, which features some lovely sentimental stuff."

Still the best

P. SIMPSON | North Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 04/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Pretre recording is excellent, but this forty year old one remains my favourite. Even more than the Pretre, it imbues the mass with laughter and light. The Credo is the centrepiece, - with the kind of melody Douglas Adams referred to in Hitchhiker's Guide 3 as being one Paul Macartney would kill to have written - but the whole Mass is glorious. The sound has come up remarkably well. Soloists (who include the marvellous Pilar Lorengar), Choir and Orchestra have a ball, and so will you."