Artist: Alfred Cortot, Ferenc Fricsay, Tibor Varga

Artist: Ferenc Fricsay

This 1960 recording of the Great C Minor Mass is here released under the Deutsche Grammophon Originals umbrella, and is thoroughly deserving of the accolade. This is an account of the work which is completely uninfluenced by authentic practice--if you're already curling your lip, then please stop here--but which establishes its own terms of performance with such assurance that it's almost impossible to resist. The forces (both orchestral and choral) are large but by no means unwieldy, and directed with infectious and spirited enthusiasm by Fricsay. The effect is one of solidity and grandeur, but without any hint of pomposity: indeed, the jubilant choruses of the Gloria have an almost childlike glee about them. This is of course a soprano mass par excellence, and Maria Stader sings beautifully, tripping through the semiquaver scale passages with admirable dexterity, and yet producing a much fuller sound when necessary. The other soloists also offer excellent support. The work is coupled with Haydn's ebullient and short Te Deum in C major (Hob. XXIIIc:2) recorded three years later.--Warwick Thompson
AP from UK -, 2006-01-24
5 stars is not enough. Maria Stader is the best Mozart performer ever. Her singing is outstanding. Compared with other recordings like Barbara Bonney-Claudio Abbado-Berlin Philharmony this one is so much better. OK Berlin Philharmony is good but they need Maria Stader to do justice to their Orchestral prowess.
She uses her voice like a virtuoso violinist.
If you do not have this recording of the Great Mass then you are not appreciating it in its full glory.
Definitely a must.

Artist: Various Artists

Artist: Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Ludwig van Beethoven, Henry Purcell, Erich Kleiber, Gaetano Merola, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Alfred Wallenstein, Buenos Aires Colón Theatre Orchestra, San Francisco Opera Chorus, Kirsten Flagstad, Set Svanholm, Viorica Ursuleac, Günther Treptow, Edvard Grieg, Christoph W. Gluck