Joyful and exhilarating Mozart and more from Pygmalion at 20

Raphaël Pichon conducts Pygmalion
© Mathilde Assier

Sabine Devieilhe (soprano)

Xenia Puskarz Thomas (mezzo-soprano)

Kieran Carrel (tenor)

Daniel Ochoa (baritone)

Ensemble Pygmalion (choir and orchestra)

Raphaël Pichon (conductor)

8pm, Monday 9 November 2026

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★★

Bruckner, Anton (1824-1896): Christus factus est, WAB11

Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847): Miserere (parody of Kyrie, MWVA3)

Schubert, Franz (1797-1828): Lacrimosa son io, D131b

Bruckner, Anton: Ave Maria, WAB6

Mendelssohn, Felix: Da nobis pacem (parody of Verlieh uns Frieden gnädiglich, WoO5)

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791): Great Mass in C minor, K427: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo

                                                                   Ave verum corpus, K618

                                                                   Great Mass in C minor, K427: Sanctus, Benedictus

Sabine Devieilhe, Xenia Puskarz Thomas, Kieran Carrel & Daniel Ochoa
© Mathilde Assier

'Bruckner’s Christus factus est, and .... Ave Maria ... were delivered with impeccable diction and precision, Pichon drawing out the long phrases, requiring impressive sustained control'.

'Mendelssohn’s ... Da nobis pacem, allowed the orchestra to show off their warmest string sounds, with a beautiful baritone cello line'.

Mozart:

'Pichon’s expressive shaping and use of dynamic extremes flowed logically from the sound world of Mendelssohn and Bruckner. Yet this never strayed into operatic excesses, with voices growing on top notes rather than relentlessly belting, as can be the way'.

'... a real highlight was the Et incarnatus est, the quartet of flute, oboe, bassoon and soprano Devieilhe exquisitely balanced'.

'The solo quartet gave us a brief moment of their delicate blend in the Benedictus, before the final Hosanna ended with jubilant celebration'.

Raphaël Pichon conducts Pygmalion
© Mathilde Assier

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.