Stephen Hough: Missa Mirabilis

The orchestral version of Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis received performances by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of the orchestra’s chief conductor, Andrew Litton last year and Hyperion captured these performances for release on disc.

Released earlier this month, the reviews are starting to come out and are favourable for both the work and the performance.

Terry Blain in the May issue of BBC Music says:
Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis is more varied in tone, ranging from the facile sweetness of the Kyrie, through the chirpy punchiness of the Gloria, to the suddenly agitated and uncertain Credo, where the Latin text is subjected to deconstruction by a musical treatment in parts suggesting what Hough himself terms ‘defiant unbelief’. We’re back on firmer ground theologically in the fulsome Sanctus, although in the Agnus Dei elements of doubt and disquietude again break through the surface. If it’s difficult to get a settled view of what the piece is aiming to communicate, that’s not the fault of the performers, who are well prepared and deliver the music with skill and fervour.

A more detailed review of the work is also available on Music Web International:
Read the review here…

Further information and full notes are available on the Hyperion website: Hyperion CDA68096