Johann Adolf Hasse : Messe en ré mineur – Miserere

   in Choir & Organ (Sep, 2012)
In its harmonic elegance, sensitivity to text and sense of melodic line, the music of Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) epitomises a style of German baroque that never fails to lift the spirits.

This ‘number mass’ in D is typical of his style and of its period, with the five sections of the Ordinary of the Mass sub-divided into 15 smaller passages of text with their own distinct movements. This 1995 recording, recently issued on the Capriccio label, is a reading of real elan and enthusiasm: impressively balanced, full of subtle colour and singing of exquisite delicacy and accuracy.

It’s rare to find a quartet of voices so well matched for this …