Beethoven - Missa Solemnis - Naxos Deutschland

With this majestic performance of Beethoven's "Missa solemnis", Nikolaus Harnoncourt once again demsontrates why he is to be ranked as one of the very few truly siginificant musicians of our time. Created between 1819 and 1823, the "Missa solemnis" is the most extensive non-stage work that Beethoven wrote. This magnificent choral piece represented a great personal struggle for the composer, who famously insicribed the top of the score with the worlds "From the heart - may it return to the heart". Tim Ashley, reviewing a repeat concert at London's Barbican, wrote in "The Guardian": "This shattering performance ranked among the greatest I have heard."