Bach Mass in B minor
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johann Sebastian Bach
Genre:
Vocal
Label: BBC Music Legends/IMG Artists
Magazine Review Date: 7/2001
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 77
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: BBCL4062-2
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Mass |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Carlo Maria Giulini, Conductor Janet Baker, Mezzo soprano Jenny Hill, Soprano Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer John Shirley-Quirk, Baritone New Philharmonia Chorus New Philharmonia Orchestra Peter Pears, Tenor |
Author:
In these days of period-instrument hegemony in the performance of Bach, this ‘old-fashioned’ B minor Mass may be considered an anachronism among younger collectors, but it has its own validity in terms of Giulini’s absolute commitment to the work in hand and in the thoroughness of the execution. Dare one say that all too many performances of the work today sound cool and insubstantial beside it, and why should we try to ape so slavishly the practices of Bach’s time, when his music was probably done in a fairly haphazard, ill-rehearsed manner?
The downside of the large-scale approach can be heard in the somewhat lumbering account of ‘Qui tollis’, its upside in the grave, measured ‘Gratias agimus’ where the successive entries of the same idea are unerringly propelled. ‘Et incarnatus est’ and ‘Crucifixus’ in the Credo have a wonderful inwardness, the ‘Sanctus’ a power unavailable to a smaller choir. Were he living today, Bach would probably have loved this dedicated performance. As for the faster, exhilarating movements, such as ‘Cum sancto spiritu’ and ‘Et resurrexit’, the vintage New Philharmonia Chorus is fleetness itself.
When it comes to the soloists this performance wins hands down over authenticity. A day or two before hearing this recording, I listened to a Matthew Passion on BBC Radio 3 where the soloists drawn from a (not very good) choir sounded thin and etiolated. By comparison, Janet Baker, on top form, is warm, vibrant, above all communicative with her words. Shirley-Quirk, in both his solos, is confident and bold in his vocal projection, secure and full in tone. There is no-one to match them today. Jenny Hill sings purely and with fresh feeling. Only Peter Pears, already in his sixties, is disappointing. He has to husband what remains of his resources.
The recording catches both the St Pauls’ reverberation and the sense of a notable occasion. BBC Legends’ Achilles Heel is again in evidence in the absence of the text. Richard Osborne, whose note is otherwise illuminating, fails to give us much information about, or comment on, the performance itself
The downside of the large-scale approach can be heard in the somewhat lumbering account of ‘Qui tollis’, its upside in the grave, measured ‘Gratias agimus’ where the successive entries of the same idea are unerringly propelled. ‘Et incarnatus est’ and ‘Crucifixus’ in the Credo have a wonderful inwardness, the ‘Sanctus’ a power unavailable to a smaller choir. Were he living today, Bach would probably have loved this dedicated performance. As for the faster, exhilarating movements, such as ‘Cum sancto spiritu’ and ‘Et resurrexit’, the vintage New Philharmonia Chorus is fleetness itself.
When it comes to the soloists this performance wins hands down over authenticity. A day or two before hearing this recording, I listened to a Matthew Passion on BBC Radio 3 where the soloists drawn from a (not very good) choir sounded thin and etiolated. By comparison, Janet Baker, on top form, is warm, vibrant, above all communicative with her words. Shirley-Quirk, in both his solos, is confident and bold in his vocal projection, secure and full in tone. There is no-one to match them today. Jenny Hill sings purely and with fresh feeling. Only Peter Pears, already in his sixties, is disappointing. He has to husband what remains of his resources.
The recording catches both the St Pauls’ reverberation and the sense of a notable occasion. BBC Legends’ Achilles Heel is again in evidence in the absence of the text. Richard Osborne, whose note is otherwise illuminating, fails to give us much information about, or comment on, the performance itself
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