“From the Heart, may it go to the Heart.” A Conversation with soprano Erika Grimaldi about Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the NSO

May 15-17, Gianandrea Noseda conducts Beethoven’s greatest choral work, the Missa Solemnis. The Washington Chorus and guest soloists Erika Grimaldi, Rihab Chaieb, Saimir Pirgu and Marko Mimica join the NSO for this epic Mass. This is an exciting opportunity to hear the Missa Solemnis because it’s infrequently performed due to its massive scale and formidable artistic demands.  

I was lucky enough to get a chance to chat via email with soprano Erika Grimaldi about the challenges and joys of singing Beethoven’s exalting work. 

Nicole Lacroix: I had to laugh when I read the first sentence in Wikipedia’s analysis of the Missa Solemnis: “The writing displays Beethoven’s characteristic disregard for the performer...[it’s] both technically and physically exacting, with sudden changes of dynamic, metre and tempo.” Do you agree with this view, and what are the points in the Mass where we should be praying for your survival? 

Erika Grimaldi: There’s often talk about Beethoven’s supposed ‘disregard ’for singers, especially when it comes to how he wrote vocal parts. I speak as a singer, of course, and I have to say that his way of composing is not comfortable, both in terms of range and melodic movement. And this is very clear here too: at least for my voice type, the soprano, the part is truly demanding. There’s hardly ever a moment of rest for the vocal cords; the range is consistently high, and often the required sound doesn't help in maintaining any softness or ease. 

But beyond the technical difficulty of the vocal writing, there are other complex aspects—first of all, the rhythm. Anyone approaching this kind of music needs a solid musical foundation, because it’s not something you can improvise or learn by ear. It requires precise knowledge of note values. 

Additionally, there are frequent harmonic changes that are quite unusual and seem to anticipate a more modern musical language. Intonation is tricky because the four voices often intertwine in strange harmonies that seldom resolve on the strong beat—more often, they resolve on the offbeat. 

It’s a very long, very complex part, and yes, it’s true when people say you have to pray for your voice to survive to the end! But we’ve done a great job, and I’m confident we’ll make it to the finish line unscathed. 

NL: It took Beethoven 4 years to craft this monumental work.  To prepare himself, he studied the Latin text and liturgical music going back to Gregorian chant.  What are, in your opinion, the most sublime parts of the Mass? 

EG: It’s truly difficult to isolate any moments that might seem more sublime than others, because the entire Missa Solemnis is a masterpiece. It’s an incredibly complex work, and if you analyze the whole score—the choral writing, the solo parts, the orchestration—you find a constant interplay, a dialogue and counterpoint among all these voices that’s extraordinarily rich and intricate. 

Looking at it as a whole, I find it almost impossible to say which part is ‘more beautiful’: it’s all so beautiful. 

That said, if I had to express a personal preference, based on my own aesthetic taste and on what I feel I can express most deeply, I would say that the moment I love the most is the “Et incarnatus est.” 

It’s as if, suddenly, all that intense musical energy—the grandeur of the rhythm, the harmony, the sound—pauses for a moment and gives way to a feeling of peace, of elevation. 

For me, it’s a magical moment. But of course, that’s just my personal taste. 

NL: Beethoven considered this his best work and wrote on the score of his friend the Archbishop Rudolph, “From the heart, may it go to the heart.” What is Beethoven trying to tell us in the Mass? What does it reveal about his vision of the meaning of life? And how do you feel when immersed in this music? 

EG: Answering the question is not easy because Beethoven did not leave behind any direct accounts that might help us truly understand the spirit with which he approached the composition of the Missa Solemnis. Many argue that it is not true sacred music, much less liturgical, and in part, that’s true. However, it’s also incorrect to say that it was written solely to be performed in a concert setting. 

At the time of composition, Beethoven was a mature artist, with a long and rich musical and personal experience behind him. He likely tried to channel into this work everything he had understood up to that point—not only in terms of musical composition, but also in relation to life experiences. We must not forget that he was a man deeply marked by suffering, especially by the severe hearing impairment that had so greatly limited him. In the score, one often senses feelings of anger, helplessness, and also a strong plea for help. 

So what did he mean by the expression “from the heart, may it go to the heart”? Most likely, it is a message—a cry for help, but also an act of hope. It is interesting, in this regard, that at the beginning of the score, there is the indication “with devotion.” This clearly speaks to a spiritual dimension, a dedication to something greater—perhaps a search for answers to his personal torment or to the great questions of existence. One senses a nearly supernatural vision of life, as though music were a way to devote oneself to a higher reality. 

We must also consider that, at this point in his life, his deafness was almost complete. A condition like that inevitably leads to deep inner reflection. All of this is reflected in the music, which is highly complex. There is a continuous interplay between the orchestra, the choir, and the soloists—a constant communication, where each part seems to want to express its own message. Often, the orchestra anticipates what will later be echoed, with the same notes, by the chorus or the soloists, as if to emphasize the importance of the message, reinforced by its repetition by three different forces. 

In my opinion, this is music that conceals great suffering, with its lack of harmonic resolution on the downbeat and its almost contemporary-sounding harmonies. As I approached the Missa Solemnis for the first time, I often asked myself: “Is this really Beethoven?” One would not expect such harmonic solutions, at least not in the historical context in which he lived. And yet, in this music, there is a sense of torment and anguish that, at times, is sublimated into a sense of elevation, an attempt to rise above, to transcend. 

What the true meaning of life was for him, I do not know. But what I feel, and what I can say, is that in this work, a deep anguish coexists with a genuine desire to rise above suffering. 

NL: You sang Desdemona in Otello last season and you’re coming back to the NSO next season to appear in Puccini’s Il Trittico in Opera in Concert both here in DC and at Carnegie Hall. Are you looking forward to that? 

EG: I’m definitely looking forward to returning. I’m very fond of Washington and the Kennedy Center, where I’ve always worked with great joy. This time, the anticipation is even greater because we’ll be presenting a different kind of program—an operatic one: Il trittico: it will mark my debut as Giorgietta in Il tabarro and as the protagonist of Suor Angelica.