Beethoven

Few works match the scale, ambition and emotional intensity of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Written immediately before his Ninth Symphony, it occupied the composer for four years, and he regarded it as one of his finest creations, inscribing the score with the hope that it might "come from the heart – may it return to the heart."

Monumental in scale yet deeply personal in expression, Missa Solemnis combines a profoundly human exploration of faith, hope and peace with extraordinary musical invention, written by a composer at the height of his creative powers even as he was forced to confront the devastating effects of increasing deafness. From breathtaking choral grandeur to moments of luminous beauty and deeply expressive solos, this is a work of overwhelming emotional power and listening to it is an exhilarating, moving and ultimately joyful experience.