:00:41. > :00:46.Tonight at the Proms, a work of monumental power - 90 minute-long
:00:46. > :00:52.breathtaking religious drama, a Mass where belief and doubt battle
:00:52. > :00:57.for supremacy, set to music that's rich and uncompromisingly bold.
:00:57. > :00:59.Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Sir Colin Davis conducts the London
:00:59. > :01:03.Symphony Orchestra along with the London Symphony Chorus and the
:01:03. > :01:08.London Philharmonic Choir in one of Beethoven's late masterpieces. It
:01:08. > :01:12.took four years of intensive effort to compose this solemn work as he
:01:12. > :01:14.studied Bach, Handel and Palestrina to see how they had approached
:01:14. > :01:18.setting the Latin Mass. Beethoven finished his account four years
:01:18. > :01:23.before his death and at an hour- and-a-half, this is one of his
:01:23. > :01:28.longest and largest compositions. Beethoven made full use of all the
:01:28. > :01:34.resources that were available to him, a large orchestra, a quartet
:01:34. > :01:38.of soloists and an extensive chorus as well, 260 singers on the Royal
:01:38. > :01:42.Albert Hall platform. He was determined to do justice to what he
:01:42. > :01:47.described as "the fundamental truths of the text", creating
:01:47. > :01:53.passages which are incredibly rich and symphonic, others which are
:01:53. > :01:58.much more intimate, rather more akin to chamber music. You feel the
:01:58. > :02:03.anguish and the anxiety. There is a sense of solemn serenity around the
:02:03. > :02:08.Benedictus. I spoke to Sir Colin Davis and asked him if he believed
:02:08. > :02:15.that some sense of faith was essential to performing this work.
:02:15. > :02:22.I am sure that is true. You don't have to believe in the religious
:02:22. > :02:31.sense, but when Beethoven says he believes, we have to go along with
:02:31. > :02:41.it. It is an amazing piece of music, truthfully. That is what is so
:02:41. > :02:49.tiring about it. Every number took him four years to write. So I think
:02:49. > :02:53.he had a lot of struggles. There are comic stories of him being in
:02:53. > :02:59.such a terrible state trying to write a few... What do you think he
:02:59. > :03:08.achieved with the piece? I don't know if he achieved his greatest
:03:08. > :03:17.piece. He pretty well prevented anybody from writing a Mass again.
:03:17. > :03:22.Why is it so great? Why? Because the music is so good. The text had
:03:22. > :03:28.been around for a long time. We all know the lyrics. It is finding a
:03:28. > :03:37.way of showing respect for those lyrics, isn't it? That's true. He
:03:37. > :03:43.was like that - passionately committed. At the same time he was
:03:43. > :03:46.writing the 9th similar foe any, which, great though it is, doesn't
:03:46. > :03:51.compare. Sir Colin Davis who conducted the London Symphony
:03:51. > :03:59.Orchestra more than half a century ago. If you want to read more about
:03:59. > :04:03.the work in tonight's Prom, Missa Solemnis, you can go to our website.
:04:03. > :04:06.There is also full text there. Right now, I'm joined in the
:04:06. > :04:16.gallery of the Royal Albert Hall by a man who knows this piece very
:04:16. > :04:22.
:04:22. > :04:27.well. He's sung the bass solo role. Rodney Earl Clarke. You need to
:04:28. > :04:32.believe in it, don't you? If it is necessary for you to believe, if
:04:32. > :04:37.you take a look around here with the enormous number of people who
:04:37. > :04:41.have flocked in here, they have faith in the performance and the
:04:41. > :04:49.orchestra and in Beethoven. Why is it so difficult to perform this
:04:49. > :04:54.work? It requires lots of rehearsal. I was at rehearsal earlier on today.
:04:54. > :05:00.I can safely say that we are in for a special treat. I was watching the
:05:00. > :05:06.rehearsal today, but also yesterday at the BBC Maida Vale studios, and
:05:06. > :05:13.the chorus being taken over certain passages because there are moments
:05:13. > :05:19.when the balance is critical? You have to make it clear that this
:05:19. > :05:24.piece is very challenging to put together. You have the forces of
:05:24. > :05:27.the 80-strong orchestra, 260 members in that chorus and the four
:05:27. > :05:36.wonderful soloists. That's a feat of engineering to fit that together.
:05:36. > :05:41.We are lucky here tonight to have Sir Colin Davis. Sometimes in great
:05:41. > :05:45.choral works, the soloists are placed around the conductor, two on
:05:45. > :05:49.each side - ladies on the left, gents on the right. Tonight, they
:05:49. > :05:54.are going to be much more bunched up. Why is that? This piece is very
:05:54. > :05:59.much an ensemble piece. It is essential that all four soloists
:05:59. > :06:03.can hear each other so we can get this whole piece tightly performed.
:06:03. > :06:11.They perform as a quartet? Exactly. What are you most looking forward
:06:11. > :06:16.to - please don't say the bass solo? This is described as a five-
:06:16. > :06:25.movement symphony. My favourite number is the second number, the
:06:25. > :06:29.Gloria. I can describe it as a huge choral explosion. You have the
:06:29. > :06:33.Benedictus in stark contrast, where the leader of the orchestra stands
:06:33. > :06:37.up and has his internal dialogue with the chorus and the violin,
:06:37. > :06:42.solo violin. It is a very special moment that, solo violin, alone on
:06:42. > :06:52.the stage. Thank you very much indeed for being with us. Here
:06:52. > :06:52.
:06:52. > :06:56.comes that solo violinist. Gordan Nikolitch is leader of the London
:06:56. > :07:04.Symphony Orchestra. Beethoven's inscription on the score reads
:07:04. > :07:14."from the heart, may it return to the heart." The soloists this
:07:14. > :07:18.
:07:18. > :07:28.evening, Helena Juntunen, mezzo, Sarah Connolly, tenor Paul Groves