Eine Messe des Lebens
A mass of life

"Recording of the week: This superb new set from Bergen makes the strongest case for the piece imaginable, thanks to the irreproachable singing of the Edvard Grieg Kor and Collegium Musicum Choir (who deliver accuracy and athleticism in spades), Roderick Williams's warmly sympathetic Zarathustra, and above all Elder's masterly grasp on the architecture and detail of a score which can so easily seem sprawling and overblown".

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"Recommended: An exceptional performance of an exceptional piece ... Clearly this is a very fine recording indeed from all the artists and technical team involved. However, the laurels rest with Mark Elder ... This might just be one of his very finest achievements - he has galvanised this highly talented group to give a performance of genuine greatness. A slumbering giant awakens".

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"Frederick Delius's A Mass of Life (1905), or Eine Messe des Lebens, opens with a choral explosion, only fitting for what turns out to be a battle of the will as expressed by Friedrich Nietzsche in Also sprach Zarathustra. The Bradford-born Delius used passages from the German philosopher he so admired ... for his humanist cantata for four soloists, double choir and orchestra ... A new recording, in German, may be the longed-for boost the mass needs. Mark Elder, a natural for this work, rouses his forces into life with subtlety and focus, as well as gusto. All praise to the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Edvard Grieg Kor, Collegium Musicum Choir and soloists Gemma Summerfield, Claudia Huckle, Bror Magnus Tødenes and, in the prominent baritone role, Roderick Williams. I was converted".

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"Mark Elder's new traversal of Delius's 'A Mass of Life' ... contains much that is genuinely impressive. As well as securing superbly drilled and wholly committed results from his sizeable orchestral and choral forces, Elder steers a commendably purposeful course through Delius's giant canvas, elucidating both its frequently dense textures and its adventurous chromatic harmonies with penetrating skill ... There can be no grumble at all with Elder's outstanding soloists ... This newcomer represents a considerable achievement".

"The Bach Choir ... marvellously secure in the face of the composer's demands, is probably the finest in this work ... Any performance of A Mass of Life stands or falls by its soloists ... The name Alan Opie is a guarantee of quality, and so it turns out to be. His assumption of the role is calm and sober ... The performance of the Mass is superbly paced by Hill, and Opie is magnificent".