Exceptional live performance of Beethoven gem

HERE are few better places to hear a sacred masterpiece in the days before Easter than Llandaff Cathedral.

- MARK REES

Standing on one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain, it's a space steeped in centuries of worship and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is a work that demands such atmosphere.

Written not as a showpiece but as a personal exploration of spirituality, the Missa Solemnis is one of Beethoven's most reflective works: a piece that wrestles with belief, awe, and surrender.

For a composer so often cast as defiant, this is Beethoven at his most introspective.