Review: Nelson Mass, Victoria Chorale

“Amy Moore and Sally-Anne Russell’s voices matched beautifully, especially in the duets, their voices soaring into the upper reaches of the cathedral. Likewise Robert Macfarlane and Christopher Tonkin gave excellent performances. - Cyril Jones, Classic Melbourne

It’s unlikely that Joseph Haydn had Lord Nelson in mind when he wrote this work but he was almost certainly thinking about Napoleon, who at that time was threatening the composer’s native country.

Titled Mass for Troubled Times it reflected a world in turmoil, written at a time of intense fear for the future of Austria, whose citizens were not in the best of spirits. In 1797-1798 Napoleon Bonaparte was rampaging through Europe; he had defeated the Austrian army in four major battles, even crossing the Alps and threatening Vienna itself. Read the rest of the review