Karajan at the Vatican: Mozart "Coronation" Mass & Ave verum corpus

The legend of Herbert von Karajan as "general music director of Europe" was always slightly tongue-in-cheek. But there were occasions when it almost seemed true, and never more so than on 29 June 1985 when he conducted Mozart's Coronation Mass in St Peter's Basilica, Rome, as part of a mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. Karajan had suggested the idea during a Papal visit to Austria; only the best was good enough, and the best is what we have here, with Kathleen Battle and Ferruccio Furlanetto among the solo singers. Karajan directs the Vienna Philharmonic in this most life-affirming of sacred masterpieces, plus the motet Ave Verum Corpus – music that could have been written for the magnificent setting of St Peter's.

Soloists: 

Kathleen Battle (Soprano), Trudeliese Schmidt (Contralto), Rudolf Scholz (Organ), Ferruccio Furlanetto (Baritone), Gösta Winbergh (Tenor)

Ensembles: 

Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Singverein

Conductor: 

Herbert von Karajan