Beethoven Missa Solemnis - Huddersfield Choral Society & Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

The Missa Solemnis was, as conductor Gregory Batsleer reminded us in a genuinely instructive prelude to Friday’s performance at Huddersfield Town Hall, Beethoven’s finest work according to his own estimation. And even if the collective sentiments were moved as much by the rendering as the inherent quality of the music, the resounding ovation at the finale indicated that the audience were in full-throated agreement.

Thrillingly delivered, the Mass in D major was well-served by an on-stage unanimity of purpose: the Choral Society’s sense of occasion was complemented by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra working in cohesive conjunction with them.

A hugely complex and demanding work, the Mass is magnificently integrated, not least in the insinuation of solo voices behind the orchestra. Not gifted the individuated artistry of arias, the four soloists perform as a unit within the larger choir, potentially compromising the integrity of voice in the submerging choral sea. Less capable singers might have struggled to be heard, but the soloists were clear and distinct, adding to the received effect in building accretions. Andrew Staples’ piercing tenor cut through the maelstrom of some of the more vigorous passages like a sharpened knife: during the central sections of the Gloria we heard a breathtaking cross-referencing of vocal skills overlapping Staples’ searching power with the clarity of Sophie Bevan’s soprano. And later, in the Credo and especially in the mournful Sanctus, the range of Bethany Horak-Hallett’s mezzo was anchored by the natural gravitas of William Thomas’ bass.

But truthfully, the real power in this theatre of sustained drama was actuated in the collective will: the choir’s titanic effort to maintain tempo and continuity in the unremitting exchange of male and female voices was an upscaled, dynamic version of the individual performances unfolding in near-unison. And it is to Huddersfield Choral Society’s credit that such continuity was seamlessly effected in what must be a hugely difficult work to perform. The effect was oceanic in passages – the velocitous rising and falling of vocal interchanges melding to create a journey through the Mass that is at once, emotionally-draining, and near-sublime.

Gregory Batsleer’s supervision of orchestra and choir was understandably energetic, given the demands of the piece, the abrupt changes in tempo, and the sudden bursts of electricity that animate the more dramatic movements. Achieving a plateau of cooperative momentum whilst allowing free rein to individual artistry – the playing, especially of the string and woodwind sections was stupendously on-point – is to strike a profoundly fragile balance.

A stunning evening that will live long in the memory. Beethoven couldn’t have wished for more.