Music review: SCO: Missa Solemnis
SCO: Missa Solemnis *****
City Halls, Glasgow
The opening Kyrie and Gloria – a half-hour tour-de-force – encapsulated all that was to distinguish the rest of the performance. Storgårds’ magnetic presence – stately and magisterial, ever-conscious of the colossal, heroic picture – elicited an initial calmness that was compelling in its inner intensity, out of which the Gloria erupted with spine-tingling ecstasy. Most impressive, though, was the extraordinary detail he demanded and received throughout from Gregory Batsleer’s expertly-trained chorus: needle-sharp diction capable of cutting through the orchestral largesse; an expressive range intensified by the superb homogeneity of the voices, particularly the sopranos.
But this is a work to be enjoyed for the egalitarian power of all its integrated forces. The SCO sounded assertive, crisp and lustrous; the vocal quartet – Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Karen Cargill, Jeremy Ovenden and Neal Davies – evenly matched. Together, they took us to a sublime place.