Concert review Missa Solemnis BBCSO / Roger Norrington Royal Albert Hall, London

'Above all, it sounded simply right... This was one "Missa Solemnis" that I suspect won't be quickly forgotten'

Those who like everything clearly labelled must find the current concert scene deeply frustrating. Once there were "authenticists" and "traditionalists" - and now? Take Roger Norrington's Sunday evening performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in the Royal Albert Hall. Here he directed not his famous (or infamous) period-instrument London Classical Players, but the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. From this performance alone, could anyone have guessed that Norrington was in the vanguard of what one critic has called "the original instrument guerrillas"?

There were signs of the familar Norrington, the gleeful controversialist who loves taking risks. The second part of the "et vitam venturi" fugue in the Credo was breathtakingly fast - and tremendously exciting. But the clarity and technical control were just as startling, especially from the chorus. Above all, it sounded simply right: full of conviction, and dramatically part of a much larger conception. In the dark, slow prelude to the Benedictus some of the strings played without vibrato, but what a surprisingly rich, expressive sound it made - not a hint of style-conscious contrivance. The contrast between this and the following high flute and solo violin sounds can't often have been as poetically effective - "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Hard to believe Beethoven didn't have something like that in mind.

On the other hand, those who enjoy a good grumble at Norrington's revisionist (ie fast) tempos in supposedly slow movements would have been disappointed. The outer sections of the Kyrie were, as Beethoven marks them, "sustained". The Benedictus flowed freely without sounding hurried. Still, a quick comparison with the oft-recommended 1966 Karajan recording was fascinating - the Karajan trudged and dragged its heels after Norrington, despite the wonderful singing of Gundula Janowitz.

Norrington's vocal team was a good match for Karajan's. His soprano, Amanda Halgrimson, may not have Janowitz's gorgeous, creamy tone, but she was every bit as persuasive, and even more secure in the heights. And the solo quartet as a whole was exceptionally well integrated, even with a last-minute substitution (tenor Steve Davislim for Hans Peter Blochwitz). Norrington's preference for singers with restrained vibrato was vindicated in the long solo sections of the Credo - marvellous to hear Beethoven's harmonies so clearly for once.

Criticism? Perhaps the extraordinary, quasi-operatic climax of the Agnus Dei (soprano pleading for peace amid military onslaughts from trumpets and drums) could have been more apocalyptic, but by that point I was expecting so much of this performance that I was almost bound to be disappointed. The ending - memories of the military music not quite banished - was unusually thought-provoking: is Beethoven telling us that the prayer for peace will never be fully answered?

The BBC Chorus were on the same fine, eloquent form here, at the end of this hugely demanding sing, as anywhere else - in itself something of a miracle. This was one Missa Solemnis that I suspect won't be quickly forgotten.