The bad news first: the initial pressings of the second volume of John
Eliot Gardiner's Philips recordings of the late Haydn masses (the last
six plus the second Te Deum are planned, theu are issued in three releases
with two CDs each, one mass/CD; these sets sell for the price of one)
is affected by a pressing mistake: the Te Deum that is supposed to be
the filler on the Nelsonmass-CD is missing.  This has been confirmed ot
me by Universal Classics Germany, I understand that it has been fixed
by now.  If you intend to buy this set; make sure you get a corrected
version.  The better news: after some getting used to it, these recordings
are quite splendid.  I first found that Gardiner employed an inappropriate,
very cool sound, but by now - after the first two sets - I feel that it
it actually is quite effective.  Sound quality is splendid, so are most
of the soloists.  The Monteverdi Choir is a wonder of intonation, but
their pronounciation isn't exactly stunning.  In all four masses available
of now, they sing "pa'em" rather than "pacem".  I've been wondering at
the nature of the organ used; the CDs were recorded at Watford Coloseum,
which doesn't have an organ as far as I know. Most of the time the
instrument used sounds hilariously thin (pretty much like a cheap keyboard
attempting to sound like an organ), but the Nelsonmass features some
impressive pedal notes.  Does anyone happen to know what was used?  Or
more generally, what is used for performances of such music in venues
without an organ?  An electric instrument?  Is there such a thing as a
portable organ?

Jan