This month: JORDI SAVALL Conductor
MY FINEST MOMENT
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
La Capella Nacional de Catalunya; Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall et al Alia Vox AVSA9956 (2023)
This was something I’d been preparing for many years, because it’s a really difficult project, one of the most complex and spiritual of the vocal and orchestral works. I had decided on something very simple first, which was to be well prepared, but also to take the time needed toas I had with the complete Beethoven symphonies, which was to do six days of intensive work in one month, send everybody home and then do another six days of intensive work. This is the only way I can imagine to reach the work’s summit; you have time to experiment, time to discover. There are things that you imagine at home when you’re studying the score, but when you are working with the singers it becomes evident that things have to be done in a certain way. And you can only discover this if you have time; if you are in a hurry and you say, ‘We have to finish this in the next half hour,’ it’s impossible.
