With his first 'Missa Solemnis,' Gustavo Dudamel takes on Beethoven's ultimate spiritual challenge

Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” is simply a expansive wide for ample orchestra, chorus and 4 vocal soloists that lasts astir 80 minutes. It was written adjacent the extremity of Beethoven’s beingness and is his astir ambitious enactment musically and spiritually. “Coming from the heart, whitethorn it spell to the heart,” helium wrote connected the archetypal leafage of the score.

The Beethoven biographer Jan Swafford enactment it this way: “ ‘Missa Solemnis’ is Beethoven talking to God, antheral to man. And what they talked astir is peace. Creation was for Beethoven’s the magnificence successful the satellite which we inhabit; ‘Missa Solemnis’ is meant to support it thus.”

Yet among Beethoven’s large works, “Missa Solemnis” is, by far, the slightest performed, and not simply due to the fact that of the request for ample forces. Conductors conflict to get a grip connected its mysteries and intricacies. Upon turning 70 past year, Simon Rattle contended “Missa Solemnis” remains beyond him. Upon his reaching 70, Michael Tilson Thomas made a momentous repast of “Missa Solemnis” 11 years agone with a staged show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic astatine Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Gustavo Dudamel, who has been conducting Beethoven since helium was a teen, waited until helium passed his 45th day past month. His archetypal “Missa Solemnis” performances implicit the play astatine Disney were the centerpiece of his month-long L.A. Phil absorption connected Beethoven.

That task began a week earlier with a governmental statement. Beethoven’s incidental euphony to Goethe’s play of liberation, “Egmont,” was updated with a caller substance that served arsenic an urgent telephone for protestation successful our ain epoch of authoritarianism and militarism. Here, Beethoven exerts a compulsion for triumphant glory.

The glory successful “Missa Solemnis” is that of stupefaction. By this constituent successful his life, Beethoven has had it with weapons, the drumbeat of soldiers, the addictive emotion of trumpet calls to action. His man-to-man with God is celestial diplomacy. There is nary compromise. We either care, astatine each costs, for our magnificent satellite oregon thing matters.

Dudamel intelligibly cares. He conducted the monolithic wide from memory. And costs beryllium damned. He imported from Spain 2 spectacular choruses — Orfeó Català and Cor de Cambra del Palau de la Música Catalana — a full of immoderate 130 singers who sounded similar they had rehearsed for months nether their awesome director, Xavier Puig. The 4 soloists — soprano Pretty Yende, mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino, tenor SeokJong Baek and bass Nicholas Brownlee — were needfully robust and powerful. They were placed mid-orchestra, down the violas and bravely successful beforehand of the timpani.

“Missa Solemnis” follows the modular wide substance but doesn’t needfully travel the liturgical narrative. It is simply a enactment of theater, dramatizing feelings, arsenic the earlier Disney staging attempted. Director Peter Sellars and conductor Teodor Currentzis person besides been promising a large staged “Missa Solemnis” for galore years.

The Kyrie opens with a beardown D-major chord successful the ample orchestra that seems an evident downbeat but turns retired to beryllium an upbeat. Down is up. Eighty oregon much minutes aboriginal astatine the extremity of the Agnus Dei, erstwhile the large plea for bid reaches its eventual transcendence, up becomes, successful 1 of the astir profoundly unsettling moments successful each music, down again. We ne'er afloat cognize wherever we basal successful “Missa Solemnis.” Every anticipation is thwarted. Beethovenian bid is simply a astir superhuman endeavor.

Gustavo Dudamel conducts L.A. Phil, vocal soloists and Catalan choruses successful Beethoven’s ‘Missa Solemnis’ astatine Walt Disney Concert Hall.

(David Butow / For The Times)

Dudamel‘s attack is to effort the all-encompassing. He conducted without a baton but with his body. His arms were often unfastened and wide arsenic if embracing the instrumentalist masses connected the stage, holding the full satellite successful his hands. Tidiness wasn’t needfully the issue. Grandeur was. Molding dependable was. And, of course, awe.

Throughout his career, Beethoven was the overwhelming maestro of awe. In “Missa Solemnis,” helium out-glories the Gloria. His fugues are a draftsman’s rendering of heavenly splendor. Such awe asks for the superhuman from singers, particularly successful this ensemble from their ravishing precocious notes.

But Beethoven besides questions each sentiment successful the Mass. Grandeur tin truthful abruptly crook solemn that it feels astir a ceremonial sleight of hand. In the Sanctus, a solo violin sails successful from obscurity (“descending similar a dove from heaven,” Hugh MacDonald nicely puts it successful the programme note), and abruptly we’re successful a violin concerto with vocal soloists of transcendent allure.

The Agnus Dei begins successful glum realization that determination whitethorn beryllium nary compensation for humanity’s large sins when, again astonishingly without expectation, 1 of Beethoven’s uniquely wondrous melodies takes over. Saber-rattling trumpet and timpani intrude and are shushed distant arsenic worthless. Peace returns but conscionable arsenic it is astir to climax it weakens. There is nary expansive Beethoven ending. “Missa Solemnis” conscionable stops.

Dudamel’s attack was not, arsenic his Beethoven has mostly become, filled with fervent strength successful the moment. That whitethorn hap arsenic helium gains much acquisition with Beethoven’s astir exigent score. The large moments were inactive huge, particularly with the assistance of his fabulous chorus. The somber moments were good of the heart. There was eloquent solo playing successful the orchestra, and extravagance from the solo singers.

Most antithetic was the violin solo. The L.A. Phil is successful a concertmaster search, and Alan Snow, the subordinate concertmaster of the Minnesota Symphony, sat in. He brought silken “descending dove” code to his solo playing, but astatine debased code becoming much a dependable from afar than soloist. Whether that is simply his dependable oregon what Dudamel was aft is, similar truthful overmuch successful the “Missa Solemnis,” up to question. Still, its quiescent exemplified the elusive essence of peace.

When Dudamel archetypal walked connected stage, helium got, arsenic helium ever does and particularly successful his past play arsenic euphony director, a beardown ovation. At the extremity of “Missa Solemnis,” the absorption was a respectful lasting ovation, dissimilar the de rigueur rapturous reception helium ever earns with Beethoven.

Dudamel earned thing acold much rewarding. It wasn’t a infinitesimal for cheering but reflection. True bid successful “Missa Solemnis” comes not from winning but from ending conflict, beryllium it betwixt nations, quality oregon among ourselves. We person arsenic yet excessively small to celebrate.