Opus 48 | Beethoven - Missa Solemnis
Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, OX1 3AZ
Saturday 20th March 2027
Beethoven’s monumental Mass for soloists, choir and orchestra
Beethoven wrote very little sacred music. But in the Missa Solemnis, he created one of the largest, most difficult and most extraordinary works in the choral repertoire.
This is Beethoven on a monumental scale. The five movements of the Mass call for four soloists, large choir and full orchestra, but sheer size is only part of it. The music can turn from stillness to exultation in moments; immense choral fugues sit alongside passages of startling intimacy; and throughout the work Beethoven asks extraordinary things of the human voice.
Those demands are part of what makes the Missa Solemnis such an exciting work for Opus 48. Its huge choral writing needs power and stamina, but also agility, precision and the ability to change character in an instant. The full forces and choral talent of Opus 48, together with The Musical and Amicable Society orchestra, bring that remarkable range to life under David Crown.
The result is very different from the Beethoven of the Ninth Symphony, and encountered far less often in the concert hall. Great cries of Gloria and Credo give way to the inwardness of the Benedictus, while the final Agnus Dei sets a prayer for peace against music disturbed by the sounds of conflict. Again and again, Beethoven seems to test the limits of what a Mass, and a choir, can rise to.
The Missa Solemnis stands among the towering achievements of Beethoven’s final creative period: difficult, dramatic and vast in conception. Heard live, with the full weight and detail of its choral and orchestral writing, it will be an extraordinary experience.
Join us to hear it in the Sheldonian Theatre this Spring.
Opus 48 – named in honour of Fauré’s Requiem – is an exciting medium-sized choral society in Oxfordshire, performing an impressive range of repertoire to the very highest standard. Opus 48 rehearse and perform under the baton of Musical Director, David Crown, one of the leading choral conductors in the UK. To read more about Opus 48 and their upcoming season, please visit their website:
www.opus48choir.co.uk
Beethoven wrote very little sacred music. But in the Missa Solemnis, he created one of the largest, most difficult and most extraordinary works in the choral repertoire.
This is Beethoven on a monumental scale. The five movements of the Mass call for four soloists, large choir and full orchestra, but sheer size is only part of it. The music can turn from stillness to exultation in moments; immense choral fugues sit alongside passages of startling intimacy; and throughout the work Beethoven asks extraordinary things of the human voice.
Those demands are part of what makes the Missa Solemnis such an exciting work for Opus 48. Its huge choral writing needs power and stamina, but also agility, precision and the ability to change character in an instant. The full forces and choral talent of Opus 48, together with The Musical and Amicable Society orchestra, bring that remarkable range to life under David Crown.
The result is very different from the Beethoven of the Ninth Symphony, and encountered far less often in the concert hall. Great cries of Gloria and Credo give way to the inwardness of the Benedictus, while the final Agnus Dei sets a prayer for peace against music disturbed by the sounds of conflict. Again and again, Beethoven seems to test the limits of what a Mass, and a choir, can rise to.
The Missa Solemnis stands among the towering achievements of Beethoven’s final creative period: difficult, dramatic and vast in conception. Heard live, with the full weight and detail of its choral and orchestral writing, it will be an extraordinary experience.
Join us to hear it in the Sheldonian Theatre this Spring.
Opus 48 – named in honour of Fauré’s Requiem – is an exciting medium-sized choral society in Oxfordshire, performing an impressive range of repertoire to the very highest standard. Opus 48 rehearse and perform under the baton of Musical Director, David Crown, one of the leading choral conductors in the UK. To read more about Opus 48 and their upcoming season, please visit their website:
www.opus48choir.co.uk
Price
Ticket price
£10.00 - £50.00
