Rating: 5/5
Review:
Quite magnificent
I think this is a truly lovely performance of the B minor Mass. There are many great recordings and for me,
this stands with the best of them.
The music itself is sublime, of course. This has been called the greatest artistic
statement of any age and that's a defensible view. Herreweghe really gets this, I think. He takes things at measured tempi which never
drag, but really give the music the spirituality and intellectual weight it
deserves. Bach's essential pulse and
dancing rhythms are always there, though; the Christe eleison, for example,
conveys both a serious expression of faith and a lovely dancing joy. The depth, thought and richness of sound
which Herreweghe brings here makes the whole thing a complete delight for me. It may sound less sparklingly brilliant in
places than, say, Gardiner (whose interpretation I also love) but it has a core
of beauty and musicality which is profoundly involving, and Bach's deep
spirituality is always present.
The recorded sound is excellent, the soloists are quite
magnificent (as you'd expect from a cast including people like Veronique Gens,
Andreas Scholl and Peter Kooy) and it's a great recording all round. Very, very warmly recommended.
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