In this concert the work is performed under the baton of ton koopman, a conductor, organist and harpsichordist who is. More than most works regularly cited as pinnacles of western music, the b minor mass is open to vagaries of interpretation. Oct 28, 2017 the b minor mass is johann sebastian bachs legacy to vocal music. With trinity college cambridge forces and a fine roster of soloists, the results are guaranteed to prove equally spectacular. Mass in b minor bwv232 katherine watson soprano helen charlston mezzosoprano iestyn davies countertenor gwilym bowen tenor neal davies bass the choir of trinity college cambridge orchestra of the age of enlightenment leader margaret faultless stephen layton conductor missa. Emmanuel music continues to perform cycles of largescale and chamber works by bach, handel, mozart, schubert, brahms, debussy, haydn, schoenberg, weill, wolf, medelssohn, and schumann under artistic director ryan turner.
Kyrie and gloria of the mass in b minor, written in 1733, were also dedicated to the elector, but the rest of the mass was not put together until bachs last years. This new mass in b minor is a magnificent achievement and a joy to hear. The opening in itself is an unconventional series of diminished chords that climax in a dominant f sharp major. Mass in b minor, bwv 232 johann sebastian bach choralwiki.
This setting is very expansive, particularly given that it contains by far the shortest text of any of the movements of the mass a mere six words over. Following muchpraised accounts of the st john passion and christmas oratorio, stephen layton now turns to the b minor mass. Fittingly it uses rifkins edition of 2006 for me, this is one of the very greatest recordings of the mass in b minor i have ever heard. Meanwhile, bach scholars are pursuing works that he may have salvaged that survive today only in printed texts for special occasions such as weddings as well as sacred and secular celebrations. The mass in b minor did not assume its final form until bach s last years, perhaps by 1748. It consists of 18 choruses and 9 arias solo or duets. Mass in b minor, bwv 232 bach, johann sebastian imslp. Jun 02, 2016 the mass in b minor, bwv 232, is a setting of the latin text of the mass with its five traditional parts kyrie, gloria, credo, sanctus benedictus and agnus dei. Bach assembled the mass in its present form in 1749, just before his death in 1750. Loop ab end loop in 2019 cd baby deleted all cyberbass titles from their mp3 catalog. The editor, ulrich leisinger, claims to have followed bachs autograph score in the kyrie and gloriawritten as a socalled lutheran mass in 1733rather than the revised versions the composer made when he added the other movements in 1751.
Download 14 files as zip filefile permlinkdiscuss this file 0. Mass in b minor, bwv 232 kyrie kyrie eleison ii by english baroque soloists and john eliot gardiner and the monteverdi choir 3. The original manuscript shows that bach divided the mass in four major sections, similar to the sections in the roman catholic mass ordinary. Emmanuel music bach bminor mass, bwv 232 translation. Mass in b minor 1985 recording john eliot gardiner, monteverdi choir, english baroque soloists on allmusic 1986. The kyrie and gloria are taken from a 1733 mass that bach dedicated to the electoral court of saxony at dresden. In this regard, bach s setting of the kyrie, a musical litany in its own right, could not be more timely for our own day. Bach mass in b minor john eliot gardiner 2015 youtube. Bach s mass in b minor, bwv 232, 1995 concentrates her analysis on a single movement, the popular crucifixus. On his visits to dresden, bach had won the regard of the russian envoy, hermann karl, reichsgraf count.
In this short guide john butt considers the work from many angles offering the reader bas. Johann sebastian bach yale institute of sacred music. Mass in b minor 1985 recording john eliot gardiner. For bach, its a splendid choice, because again to my knowledge its unique, even without a composer, no other mass in b minor. Quoniam sheet music composed by johann sebastian bach. The sanctus of the mass in b minor dates back to 1724 and the model for one parody even to 1714. Thus, it is likely that bach completed these two movements at an earlier date and for a different purpose than the other movements of the mass in b minor. The vogue is for playing fast and flat, reducing forces and stripping the opulence and opaqueness that used to characterise bach performance. Mass in b minor by johann sebastian bach 16851750 vocal. In choosing to reuse earlier material he may have felt. Feb 14, 2018 johann sebastian bach mass in b minor kyrie ii collegium vocale gent philippe herreweghe score. Bachs mass in b minor bwv 232 is the synthesis of his lifes work. Thus the credo, osanna, benedictus and agnus dei in the mass in b minor are the only known. The term b minor mass is mentioned without introduction so far had been mass in b minor, and without italics.
Though some may wish to qualify naegeliis statement, the mass is one of the greatest monuments in western art music. The san francisco choral society performed the mass in b minor by j. King has, i think, succeeded brilliantly in reclaiming the profundity and emotional commitment of traditional bach performance, without any of the attendant heaviness of rhythm or texture. Emmanuel music is a bostonbased ensemble of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by craig smith to perform the complete sacred cantatas of j. Program notes on the b minor mass by douglas bush in 1817 the swiss critic hansgeorg naegeli praised bachis mass in b minor as the greatest work of music in all ages and of all people. She attempts to explain the criteria bach used to select original sources for parody movements.
The period instrument group arcangelo, under jonathan cohen, is here constituted in the minimum numbers needed for the work. The kyrie and gloria had been composed as a lutheran missa in 1733 for dresden. Towards the end of his life, mainly in 1748 and 1749, he finished composing new sections and compiling it into a complex, unified structure. The mass in b minor is johann sebastian bach s only setting of the complete latin text of the ordinarium missae. The pdf files generated from the fullresolution 500 dpi tiff files available from d b. The b minor mass is a parody, in the finest sense of the word. This b minor mass bwv 232a very fine performance of its typeuses a distinctive performing version, though the notes muddle the point.
The mass in b minor 1997, describes the importance. Images used under creative commons creative commons attributionshare alike 3. Mass in b minor cambridge music handbooks by john butt. The kyrie and the gloria are the two movements normally included in the lutheran missa. Click on the button to go to the page where you can download the music at the end of each line you find more information about the music of that specific performer. The success of the b minor mass behind the iron curtain should not surprise us, however, for it is the gospel set to music, and the gospel always thrives under pressure. It is hard to imagine a performance of bachs b minor mass that makes more of a statement about the way the piece should go. The 2015 release of johann sebastian bach s mass in b minor performed by the english baroque soloists and the monteverdi choir, conducted by john eliot gardiner. May 02, 2004 similarly, music for several movements in bach s cantata mass in b minor, bwv 232, assumed also to be contrafactions from cantatas, have yet to be found. For some performers these days, rendering of bachs choral works comes down to a numbers game. The first movement of bach s crowning achievement is one of the greatest examples of his sublime contrapuntal writing. Needless to say, its unique anyway, gerda arendt 12. Johann sebastian bach fritz lehmann the berlin symphony orchestra, gunthild weber, helmut krebs, margherita di landi, karl wolfram mass in b minor complete and unabridged. I have longed admired the joshua rifkin version of the mass in b minor with the bach ensemble, but this recording takes the work to an even higher level.
However, this is no mere cut and paste job with typical genius, bach fitted it all together into a homogeneous, harmonious whole, and the result is one of the towering masterpieces of music. Johann sebastian bach mass in b minor kyrie ii collegium vocale gent philippe herreweghe score. Bach mass in b minor bwv 232 van veldhoven netherlands bach society. I think id prefer actually to go and buy the hardcopy version at my local music store. Mass in b minor bwv 232 by thomanerchor leipzig, freiburger barockorchester, billerreglint buhler, soprano, and susanne krumbiegel, mezzosoprano. Mass in b minor, bwv 232 sheet music free download in pdf.
The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composers death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a sanctus bach had composed in 1724. T his is the first recording of joshua rifkins 2006 edition of the b minor mass, a revision of his first 1980 edition, using single voices in the kyrie, gloria and creed and ripienists in the six. Apr 06, 2018 mass in b minor is the last major work that was finally compiled together during bachs final years from 17481749. A cathedral in sound although it represents diverse movements, composed at different times in bach s life, the mass in b minor transcends the inconsistency of its origins.
And although the kyriegloria 1733 and sanctus 1724 were in fact. It may be that bach wished the mass in b minor to be regarded as a monument of his skill, for it is a work based much upon his earlier music, which he adapted and refined to meet a sacred purpose. Mass in b minor kyrie balthasarneumannensemble and choir, leader. The music bach mentions in the letter, and that he sent to the duke of saxony, was the first half of the b minor mass, the kyrie and the gloria. Bach also sought to leave a significant sacred choral work, and began to conceive the notion of what would become known as the mass in b minor.
There are arias of dancelike lightness as well as austere renaissance singing, ingeniously constructed fugues and jubilant choruses. Previous sheet music next sheet music mass in b minor. Bach mass in b minor cambridge music handbooks, john butt, cambridge university press the mass in b minor is arguably bachs greatest single work. May 22, 2010 t his is the first recording of joshua rifkins 2006 edition of the b minor mass, a revision of his first 1980 edition, using single voices in the kyrie, gloria and creed and ripienists in the six. Sheet music arranged for pianovocal, and singer pro in d major.
Johann sebastian bachs mass in b minor institute of sacred music. Mass in b minor, bwv 232 bach, johann sebastian movementssections movtssecs. This work, the missa in b minor, which bach with deliberate unpretentiousness characterized as an insignificant product of the skill i have attained in music, was nothing less than the nucleus of one of his masterpieces, the famed b minor mass bwv 232. Print and download choral sheet music for mass in b minor. There are movements emulating 16thcentury counterpoint such as kyrie or dona nobis pacem. Why mass in b minor is so special colorado bach ensemble. Giulini goes his own sweet way, which is not quite like anyone elses. The first section is the missa, and includes the kyrie and. The symbolum nicenum credo section of mass was performed in 1998. Sundbergs article strukturen in bachs hmoll messe structures in bachs bminor mass 1989 presents an analysis of the masss structure in order to demonstrate its intended purpose as a missa tota in the conventional sense. Mass in b minor, john butt, cambridge university press, cambridge, 1991.
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