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Beethoven felt that the summit of his entire composing life was the Missa Solemnis, a full-length "Solemn Mass" that encompassed everything he had worked toward in his music. Finished in 1824, it preceded his masterly Ninth Symphony by only a year and anticipated its final movement's use of soloists and chorus (as did the earlier Choral Fantasy). Referring to it as his "most perfect" work, Beethoven feverishly scribbled at the head of the score, "From the heart--may it go to the heart!" This 1996 performance, with conductor Giles Auger leading the Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal, is a good, straightforward reading of this splendid work that unfortunately never reaches the heart. The chorus and vocal soloists seem uninspired by the lofty heights of Beethoven's music, and nearly all 82 minutes remain remotely unemotional. That may be why there are absolutely no credits anywhere on this DVD. Aside from the orchestra and conductor (who are listed on the disc's cover), none of the soloists, the chorus, the location (a beautiful church, presumably in Montreal), or the technical credits are given, either on the box or on the disc. An unpardonable sin, that, but it's in line with such an unilluminating reading of a true masterpiece. Nor are there subtitles of the sung text; the only "extra" is a brief (one-minute) spoken introduction by the conductor, who says nothing that the adequate liner notes haven't covered. The decent sound is only in two-channel stereo. --Kevin Filipski
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