An invigorating early Haydn

Anima Eterna give a fantastic 'live' performance of Haydn's Missa Cellensis with Lydia Teuscher in particularly fine voice

Composer: Haydn
Repertoire: Missa Cellensis in C, Hob. XXII:5
Artists: Soloists, Anima Eterna/Jos van Immerseel
Rating:  3/5
Genre: Vocal
Label: Carus 83.247

Unless you are well up in Hoboken catalogue numbers, you have to consult the booklet to discover that this is not the Missa Cellensis of 1782, known as the Mariazeller Messe and also in C major, but a much earlier work that acquired the title of Missa Sanctae Caeciliae or St Cecilia Mass. Spaciously laid out, it lasts for over an hour. With its jubilant choruses and operatic arias it is an attractive piece – and there are some passages of real depth, such as the sombre Benedictus. This ‘live’ performance is invigorating: Lydia Teuscher, the soprano, is the best of the soloists, and the singers and players of Anima Eterna are splendid.