Janácek: Glagolitic Mass (Original Version) / Kodály: Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13
Sir Charles Mackerras has gone back to Janácek's original manuscripts and reinstated the music that was cut and rewritten after the piece's premiere on account of its (then considered) technical difficulty or impracticality. The result isn't all that different from the work we all know and love, other than a more extended and crazier setting of the Crucifixion sequence in the Credo. In this and all other respects, this excellent performance can be firmly recommended. Mackerras istheJanácek expert of our age, and all of his performances practically come with a guarantee of absolute musical integrity. This one is no exception, and the Kodály coupling is both apt and appealing.--David Hurwitz