Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  (1756-1791)
Mass in C minor, K. 427 ‘Great’ (1782), performing version by Luca Guglielmi (2025)
Giulia Bolcato (soprano 1); Elinor Martinez (soprano 2); Marianne Beate Kielland (mezzo);
David Fischer (tenor); Mathias Winckhler (bass)La Capella Nacional de CatalunyaLe Concert des Nations / Jordi Savall
rec. 2025, Church of Sant Domènec de la Seu d’Urgell, Catalonia, Spain
Sung Latin texts with English, French and Spanish translations included
AliaVox AVSA9965 Hybrid SACD [66]

Mozart’s C Minor Mass was left unfinished by him although the reason why has never been discovered. When he composed it he had only recently married Constanze and in fact she was one of the soprano soloists at its first performance in Salzburg in 1783. It is unknown what pieces he used in place of the unfinished sections which include part of the Credo, The Sanctus and the Agnus Dei. Some of Mozart’s musical sketches for these missing parts have survived the centuries. Previous performances and other recordings of the Mass usually feature substitutions for some of the missing sections. The reconstruction one most commonly encounters is that of Alois Schmitt from 1901, not unlike the almost inevitable Franz Süßmayr reconstruction of the 1791 Requiem, which lay incomplete at Mozart’s death.

Over the years I have enjoyed several recordings of this interesting  Mass setting, despite its incomplete state. The one I usually turn to is the 1986 Philips recording by John Eliot Gardiner in which he used the Schmitt performing version, although Gardiner made his own performance alterations to the edition. Now Jordi Savall and his Catalonia based group of performers have released this new version, which features a completely rethought performing edition of the score by Luca Guglielmi.  The booklet of this set includes a long scholarly article by Guglielmi about his reconstruction and some alterations he made to the existing score, along with some newly composed sections that incorporate the musical sketch fragments that Mozart did not complete. Without going into too much detail, among the changes one will find here, there is a partly revised scoring for the heavenly Et incarnatus est, along with an aria for the Crucifixis that has been adapted from Mozart’s 1785 oratorio Davide Penitente. There is also a concluding Donna nobis pacem of which roughly 40 percent of the music is taken directly from Mozart’s surviving sketches. Time will tell whether Guglielmi’s reconstruction will replace the long standing Schmitt version in concert. In any context this is an impressive and serious attempt to reconstruct an incomplete work.

Savall’s recording was recorded in conjunction with a series of performances which occurred around Europe, using the same artists, during the winter months of 2025. The recording was made in a small Catalonian Church which has unfortunately superimposes an enormous amount of echo onto the music. There is not a single pause or rest that is not submerged by the massive decay of sound, eliminating any musical silences whatsoever. This seriously compromises full pleasure to be found here which is a pity as the performers are clearly up to the challenge of this music.

Savall’s regular choir and period instrument orchestra are perfectly tuned into his approach to Mozart.  Comparing two recordings of the same music, Savall in the opening Kyrie for example, has a lighter, less solid feel than Gardiner’s more dense sound (also from period instruments). That is not to say that Savall doesn’t achieve a certain weightiness of his own. In Qui tollis peccata mundi, Savall shifts the musicians towards something grander in manner than what has gone on before it.

In Gardiner’s recording the Monteverdi Choir whose sound is finely-polished and period-sensitive they come across like a solid piece of granite. Savall’s chorus, on the other hand, has a choral texture that is less solid and more akin to a fine-grained piece of wood. Such moments as the Cum Sancto Spiritu reveal Savall’s choir in its most poignant form.

Mozart gave the tenor and bass soloists very little to do in this Mass, and this new performing edition doesn’t add much of significance for either of them.  Soprano 1 is sung reliably, rather than spectacularly by Guilia Bolcato. This soprano sounds well-enough but when she places pressure on her voice it can start to turn a little sour; a flaw that is then magnified by the ever present echo. However, I have absolutely no reservations at all about the angelically pure tone of Elinor Martinez in the second soprano part. She sings the Et incarnartus est with the same seraphic freshness that Sylvia McNair provided on the Gardiner recording.

As usual, Savall’s own label AliaVox has provided an executive style presentation for this SACD with a large, well-illustrated booklet, featuring copious notes in several languages. I have only auditioned the hybrid CD tracks of this SACD, and although I find nothing to complain about apart from the echo, I did note that the music has been recorded at much lower level than I am used to, which necessitated an increase in the volume control to be able to enjoy this at anything approaching a full volume level. To sample the best of what is on offer here check out Martinez’s glorious vocalizing in track 11.For Savall’s approach overall, I would recommend  his most impressive achievement in the newly constructed eight part chorus for Hosanna in excelsis (track 15). Whether one decides to purchase this will depend greatly on how one responds to the echo which affects the sound; others may not find it as intrusive as I do.

Mike Parr

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