What has drawn us to perform Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis on the 200th anniversary of its first premiere?

At first glance it should be an obvious thing to do given the composer himself rated it as his finest composition. Mounting a performance of the Missa Solemnis, however, is not for the faint-hearted.

At some 90 minutes in length, it presents numerous logistic and artistic challenges, including requiring a large chorus of particular skill and stamina to perform it. This no doubt helps explain why this particular anniversary has for the most part been bypassed by our major orchestras.

Equally, however, it is why it is an ideal work for The Orchestra Project to present – part of its mission is to give opportunities for younger musicians to experience great works of the orchestral repertoire that they might not otherwise get to perform.

Beethoven’s Missa Solemnnis Op. 123. Facsimile of the Autograph Score held in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

Furthermore, much of the peculiar power and significance of this work arises precisely out of the challenges it presents in performance. By the time Beethoven came to compose the work, initially intended for the enthronement in 1819 of...