Missa Solemnis: Beethoven's Greatest

One of the most heavenly and complex choral-symphonic works that will showcase our own chorale with orchestra, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis transcends its liturgical origins to create a universal experience. As the musicologist, Carl Dahlhaus, observed, “With the composition of a concert Mass, the concert hall was transformed into a church, and the Mass into a concert piece.” As the five mighty movements of the composition unfold, voices and instruments blend together as equals. Just as a great work of architecture plays tricks with our perception of scale, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis seems to bend time expressing both human struggle and deep spirituality.