JS Bach - Mass in B minor
£15.15
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Label: Harmonia Mundi - Les Arts Florissants
Cat No: HAF890529394
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 2
Genre: Vocal/Choral
Release Date: 9th March 2018
Contents
Artists
Katherine WatsonTim Mead
Reinoud Van Mechelen
Andre Morsch
Les Arts Florissants
Conductor
William ChristieWorks
Mass in B minor, BWV232Artists
Katherine WatsonTim Mead
Reinoud Van Mechelen
Andre Morsch
Les Arts Florissants
Conductor
William ChristieAbout
‘Bach himself conducted from the keyboard, sometimes beating time in the larger movements. Otherwise he played along with his fellow musicians, realizing the continuo baseline. And so do I! I am a continuo player, harpsichordist and organist who thus participate in the joy of music making. Yes I conduct the great Kyrie which begins the mass. However in the second movement, the Christe, I am at the keyboard accompanying a light-hearted duo for two treble voices. I play rather than direct in nine movements of the mass out of twenty-six. My role as a performer-conductor has a number of important musical consequences. First of all the number of players: I formed an orchestra and a chorus of modest proportions. Fewer musicians as well as the absence of a conductor creates an atmosphere of chamber music, giving an independence and a freedom to both soloists and instrumentalists.
‘Another consequence and most important is that of tempo. Bach’s mass has been performed since the beginning of the Bach Revival 50 years ago and has much in common with the way Handel’s oratorios were performed in the past. One only has to listen to a number of recordings past and present to detect the problem – exaggeratedly slow tempi played and sung by an exaggeratedly large number of musicians – it is as if serious and religious sentiments were synonymous with slowness. My tempi are brisk, not only in the soli and the duetti but in the D major trumpet choruses as well. Quicker tempi suggest a more physical and dance-like approach to the music. I should conclude by saying that my goal in this recording is to show a human side of Bach’s art. Indeed, the B minor Mass is an affirmation of Christian faith but just as important, for a secular society of today, it is a powerful affirmation of humanism, the exaltation of man and his achievements.’
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