Mass in B minor and Bach. Bach

Completed in 1749, many years after the death of the author began to be called High. This work strikes both with the grandeur of the scale and the depth of thought - and the words of the author, written by him in 1733, when he sent two parts of the future Mass to the Elector of Saxony, seem all the more strange: “I ask you to look with a favorable look not on the merit of the composition ... your grace." It was important for the composer to achieve the "mercy" of Friedrich August - he hoped to become a court musician.

Not so many masses have been written, because this genre was formed in the Catholic worship, and the composer was a Lutheran, so more often he created separate parts of the mass, which were still included in the Lutheran worship. The creation of the full Mass was to a certain extent due to political circumstances: the Elector of Saxony, to whom the work was dedicated, also occupied the Polish throne and therefore converted to Catholicism. But is it possible to imagine that such a profound work could be born from the desire to please a potential patron alone? It is unlikely that this could be the case. Probably, the composer needed the established form of the mass to create this majestic “cathedral in music”, the “construction” of which took a total of about a quarter of a century - from 1724 to 1749, and even later the author still made separate corrections to the score.

Even in the Middle Ages, there was a five-part mass. Its components reflect the spiritual development that a Christian must go through in the process of worship (it can be said that the Mass is a “little life” for a believer, which he lives many times in his continuous spiritual ascent). It begins with a plea for forgiveness and mercy - Kyrie, continues with the praise of God - Gloria, followed by a brief summary of the foundations of Christian doctrine - Credo, after which an excerpt from the Book of the prophet Isaiah - Sanctus ("Holy, holy, holy") is performed and Jesus is glorified in conclusion. Christ is Agnus Dei. All these parts are also present in Bach's Mass in B minor, but the composer seems to be cramped within them - each of the numbers contains several parts.

The first part - Kyrie - consists of three sections. The first and final are mournful polyphonic choirs to the same text, the first of which is a five-part fugue, and the second is a four-part fugue. The theme of the first fugue is full of chromatisms and triton intonations, the second one is more ascetic. Between these mournful fugues is the duet "Christe eleison", sustained in enlightened tones.

This sphere of joy, opposed to the world of sorrow, is developed in Gloria. The combination of fanfare intonations and jubilant chants of the choir is complemented by the solemn sound of trumpets in the orchestra. Laudamus, a soprano aria, stands out for its lyricism, which is emphasized by the solo violin that accompanies the soprano. In "Qui tollis" ("He who accepted the sins of the world"), the emotional structure and tonality of Kyrie return, but this choir, with its chamber sound and flute solo in the background, seems more elegiac than tragic.

Among the numbers that make up the third part - Credo - a special place is occupied by three choirs, which are located in the center of the composition. The first of them tells about the incarnation of Jesus Christ (“Et incarnates”), the crucifixion (“Crucifiхus”) and the resurrection (“Et resurrexit”). The tragic culmination of the mass is the "Crucifixus". According to the established tradition, for the story of the suffering and death of the Savior, the form of variations on basso ostinato is used. The theme, representing the movement along the chromatic scale from the first step to the fifth, is repeated thirteen times. In the polyphonic variations superimposed on it, there is no continuous voicing - instead of it there are scattered emerging voices, in which the mournful second intonation dominates. This universal sadness is contrasted by the jubilant chorus of "Et resurrexit": a melody directed upwards, starting with a fourth move, the simultaneous entry of the choir and the entire orchestra, including the trumpets.

The Sanctus choir looks especially majestic due to its slow movement, and the anniversaries of female voices, trumpets and timpani in the orchestra give it a character of jubilation. The fifth part is the most concise. The most penetrating aria of the viola - Agnus Dei - contrasts with the solemn choral fugue.

During the life of the creator, the work was never performed in its entirety - only certain parts were performed, and in general the Mass was too large-scale for church use. It was only in 1859 that the first public performance took place under the baton of Karl Riedel in Leipzig.

Music Seasons

Cast: soprano I, soprano II, alto, tenor, bass, two choirs, orchestra.

History of creation

“Most Serene Elector, gracious sovereign!
In deep reverence, I bring to your royal highness this humble work of my skill, which I have achieved in music, and I most humbly ask you to look at it with a favorable look, not according to the merit of the composition itself, which is badly composed, but based on your mercy known to the world ... ”- with these words, Bach in 1733 accompanied the sending of two parts of one of his greatest creations - Mass in h-moll - Kyrie and Gloria to the Elector of Saxony Friedrich August. A Protestant who served in Protestant Germany, Bach wrote mainly music for performance in Lutheran churches. True, according to Luther's reform, separate sections of the Mass in Protestant worship were allowed, but Bach wrote the full Catholic Mass not by chance, just as it was not by chance that he dedicated it to the Saxon Elector. The fact is that Friedrich August was also the king of Poland, a country invariably committed to Catholicism, and therefore he himself converted to Catholicism. Since 1717, his court in Dresden became officially Catholic. Hence Bach's natural appeal to this genre (from Friedrich August he received the title of court composer and in subsequent years, wanting to show his diligence, sent him several more masses, mainly composed of previously written cantatas).

Bach created the Mass in h-moll over the course of many years. The distant prototype Sanctus, according to researchers, dates back to 1724. The composer made the last amendments to the score until the day when he finally went blind in 1750.

The genre of the mass has historically developed in the form of a five-part work, consisting of a plea for forgiveness (Kyrie), a hymn of praise and thanksgiving (Gloria), a dogmatic part - a creed (Credo), a liturgical culmination taken from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah (Sanctus), and a conclusion, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ (Agnus Dei). At first the text of the mass was read, later it began to be sung. For some time, both of these forms coexisted, but by the 14th century, a single musical form had finally taken shape. Mass h-moll Bach is incredibly large compared to traditional ones. It also contains five parts - Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei - but these in turn are divided into several separate numbers.

Part 1 consists of Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy), Christe eleison (Christ have mercy) and Kyrie eleison II.

The 2nd part contains eight numbers: Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the highest), Laudamus te (We praise You), Gratias (Thank you), Domine deus (Lord God), Qui tollis peccata mundi (Bearing the sins of the world), Qui sedes ad dextram Patris (He who sits at the right hand of the Father), Quoniam tu solus sanctus (And You alone are holy), Cum sancto spiritu (With the Holy Spirit).

The 3rd part includes Credo in unum Deum (I believe in one God), Patrem omnipotentem (Almighty Father), Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum (And in one Lord Jesus Christ), Et incarnatus est (And incarnate), Crucifixus etiam pro nobis (Crucified for us), Et resurrexit tertia die (Not (And resurrected on the third day), Et in spiritum sanctum (And in the Holy Spirit), Confiteor unum baptista (I confess one baptism).

There are three numbers in the 4th part - Sanctus Dominus Deos (Holy Lord God), Osanna (Help us), Benedictus (Blessed).

Part 5 consists of two numbers: Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and Dona nobis pacem (Give us peace).

The Mass in h-moll is a grandiose creation that the composer has been working on for decades. Approximately two-thirds of it consists of previously written music, but it is a single composition. The 1st part of the mass, at first as an independent work, was completed by the composer in 1733, but the date of its first performance is unknown. There is information about the first performance of the Sanctus on December 25, 1724, Kyrie and Gloria on April 21, 1733 in Leipzig, as well as a mention of the performance of the Mass in 1734. There is evidence that the 2nd and 3rd parts were created from August 1748 to October 1749, after which the entire score, which included the Mass of 1733 as the 1st part, and Sanctus as the 4th part , has been put together. Unfortunately, there is no information about its performance during the composer's lifetime.

Music

The mass in h-moll is a product of the greatest philosophical wisdom, humanity, depth of feelings. Her images - suffering, death, sorrow, and at the same time - hope, joy, jubilation - amaze with depth and strength.

Movement 1, Kyrie, in three numbers, opens with a sombre choir, followed by a fugue, first orchestral. Her mournful theme, as if writhing in agony, is full of the deepest expressiveness. At the beginning of the 2nd part, Gloria (No. 4), trumpets sound joyfully, lightly. The choir picks up the jubilant theme, proclaiming glory. Wide, sing-song melodies dominate here. Particularly prominent is No. 5, Laudamus - a soprano aria accompanied by a solo violin, as if one of the voices of the choir broke out with its lyrical song. In the 3rd movement, Credo (Nos. 12-19), dramatic contrasts dominate. In No. 12, Credo in unum Deum - a wide, strict Gregorian chant melody passes sequentially (in imitation) among all the voices of the choir against the background of the solemn and measured movement of orchestral basses. No. 15, Et incarnatus, returns to mournful images. Heavy measured bass notes seem to be pressing down, the "sighs" of the strings sound plaintively. A simple, strict, full of hidden suffering melody is intoned by the choir. The voices are layered one on top of the other, creating a rich musical fabric. Mournful reflection leads to the next number (No. 16), Crucifixus, the tragic climax of the Mass, the story of the Savior's suffering on the cross. In this heartfelt episode, written in the spirit of the Italian lamento aria, Bach used the form of the passacaglia. Thirteen times the same melody appears in the bass - a measured, steadily descending gloomy chromatic move. Against its background, separate chords of stringed and wooden instruments appear, fragmentary, like sighs and lamentations, replicas of the choir. At the end, the melody descends lower and lower, dies, and, as if exhausted, dies. Everything is silent. And immediately, with a wide, jubilant stream of light, everyone is flooded with the sounds of the choir Et resurrexit (No. 17), singing the Resurrection, the victory of life over death. The combined 4th and 5th movements open with a majestic slow motion of the Sanctus choir (No. 20) with female voices celebrating anniversaries. In the orchestra, trumpet fanfare, timpani drumming sound. No. 23, Agnus Dei - a soulful viola aria with a flexible melody, accompanied by expressive singing of the violins. The final number of the Mass, No. 24, Dona nobis pacem - a solemn hymn in the form of a fugue on two themes, exactly repeats the choir No. 6, Gratias.

L. Mikheeva

Mass - a cycle of chants selected by the Catholic Church to be performed during the daily service. The chants were strictly legalized, sung in Latin and followed in a certain order. Each chant took its name from the first words of the prayer: 1. "Kyrie eleison" ("Lord, have mercy"), 2. "Gloria" ("Glory"), 3. "Credo" ("I believe"), 4. "Sanctus" (“Holy”), 5. “Benedictus” (“Blessed”), 6. “Agnus Dei” (“Lamb of God”).

Bach worked on the mass for several years - from 1733 to 1738. The Mass in B minor is one of the most majestic creations of world musical culture. The idea of this work is grandiose, the thought in its musical and poetic images is extraordinarily serious and deep. In none of the most magnificent works does Bach achieve such wisdom of philosophical generalizations and such emotional power as in the Mass.

With rare artistic freedom, Bach pushes the boundaries established for Catholic ritual music and, dividing each of the parts of the Mass into a series of numbers, brings their total number to twenty-four (fifteen choirs, six arias, three duets).

In the mass, Bach was bound by a religious text and a traditional form, and yet it is impossible to classify the B-minor mass unconditionally as a church work. In practice, this is confirmed by the fact that not only during the life of Bach, but also in subsequent times, the B-minor mass was not performed during the service. This was not allowed by the great complexity and significance of the content, the gigantic size and technical difficulties that the ordinary singer and the average church choir could not overcome. The B-minor mass is a composition of a concert plan that needs professional performing skills.

Despite the fact that each musical number is based on a prayer text, Bach did not set as his goal the detailed embodiment of the words of the prayer. Short phrases, separately proclaimed words gave rise in his creative imagination to a whole complex of associative ideas and artistic connections, strong feelings and sensations that could not be fixed. With music, Bach reveals the inner richness of poetic images, the infinity of shades of human feelings. Two words: "Kyrie eleison" - Bach is enough to create a grandiose five-voice fugue.

Throughout the first part, consisting of three independent numbers (five-voice choir No. 1, duet No. 2, four-voice choir No. 3), four words are pronounced: "Kyrie eleison", "Christe eleison".

For Bach, the mass turned out to be the genre that, in his contemporary conditions, was most suitable for the development of big ideas and philosophical in-depth images.

The world of human thoughts and aspirations seems immense in the Mass. With equal inspiration, Bach captures images of sorrow, suffering and images of joy, jubilation.

Both of them are revealed in all the variety of psychological nuances: in the tragic pathos and gloomy concentration of the first and second choirs of "Kyrie eleison" (see examples 75, 76), in the soft sadness of "Qui tollis" ("You, who assumed the sins world") or in the mournful lamentations of "Crucifixus" (see examples 77, 78), in the bright sadness of the aria "Agnus Dei" (see example 79); outbursts of joy, the desire for life in the victorious and solemn, full of delight and inspiration, the choirs "Gloria", "Et ressurexit", "Sanctus" (see examples 74, 75, 76) or in the idyllic, pastoral aria "Et in spiritum sanctum" .

Structurally, the mass in B minor is a series of closed individual numbers. In most of them, a complex development of one musical image takes place, accommodating a whole complex of feelings and thoughts. The structural completeness and independence of each choir, aria or duet is combined with the integrity and solidity of the entire composition. The main dramatic principle of the mass is the contrast of images, which continuously deepens from section to section. It is not only large parts of the mass that are contrasted, like "Kyrie eleison" and "Gloria", "Credo" and "Sanctus"; no less sharp, sometimes stunning contrasts are observed within these parts and even within some individual numbers (for example, in "Gloria").

The more concentrated the sorrow, the more tragic it reaches, the stronger the uplift and the more dazzling the light of the episode that comes to replace it. For example, in the Credo center, which consists of eight rooms, there are several associated with the image of Jesus: "Et incarnatus", "Crucifixus", "Et ressurexit". Each of the above numbers is completely finished and can be performed separately. But just as it happens in some instrumental cyclic works - sonatas, symphonies - the ideological concept, the dynamics of artistic and poetic images unite all three numbers with a line of internal development. Et incarnatus speaks of the birth of a man who will take upon himself the sins of the world; in "Crucifixus" - about the crucifixion and death of Jesus; in "Et ressurexit" - about his resurrection. As always with Bach, the pages dedicated to Jesus, the suffering man, are the most penetrating and emotionally rich.

The movement of musical images leads to the strongest growth of tragic elements. Hopeless grief, a sense of doom in "Et incarnatus" are deepened by a terrible picture of death, human grief in "Crucifixus". All the more shocking is the dramatic effect produced by the sudden burst of delight, the all-encompassing joy in "Et ressurexit".

In opposition to death and the all-conquering power of life - the hidden meaning of this peculiar cycle. Various aspects of the same idea constitute the main content of the entire work.

B-minor mass crowns the work of Bach. It is the B minor Mass, a work in which the true nature of Bach's art, complex, powerful and beautiful, was revealed with utmost depth.

V. Galatskaya

In addition to the Magnificat, Bach turned to other genres of cult music to Latin liturgical texts. In the second half of the 1930s, in Leipzig, he wrote at least five Latin Masses. At that time, worship at the Saxon royal court was performed according to the Catholic rite, and four short masses - F-dur, A-dur, g-minor and G-dur - were intended directly for execution by the Royal Chapel in Dresden. Their music in the main part was borrowed by the composer from previously written cantatas. As for the numbers newly composed for these works, there are amazingly beautiful pages, especially in the F-dur" noah and A "dur" noah masses.

Bach also wrote works in the Sanctus genre, which, as you know, are an integral part of the Catholic service, were written in the Latin church-cult text. The authorship of the composer can be considered precisely established in relation to two opus "s of this genre, written in Leipzig in the 20s: C-dur and D-dur. The authenticity of the rest is considered doubtful.

However, all these things completely pale before the famous High Mass in h-moll, which the composer began to write in the first half of the 30s (not later than 1733) and completed in 1738. This work is the most majestic final culmination on the creative path of the master.

Recall that Bach departed far from the ritual tradition, expanding the six-part cycle consecrated by the church into a monumental composition with twenty-four numbers combined in four large parts: Kyria, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus.

The Mass has fifteen choirs, three duets and six arias. The composition of the performers: mixed choir (from four to eight voices), soloists (sopranos I and II, alto, tenor, bass), orchestra (two flutes, three oboes, two oboes d "amore, two bassoons, three trumpets, horn, timpani, strings), organ and continuo.

The fate of the High Mass is unusual and instructive. By its genre nature, formally intended as if for a church cult, it has almost never been performed and is not performed in the church today, causing a cold, if not unfriendly attitude in clerical circles. This is explained solely by the internal nature, the figurative content of Bach's music itself, about which much historical and aesthetic falsehood has been written in bourgeois musicology. Some are inclined to assume that the Mass was created under the influence of purely external, worldly circumstances and mercantile motives. Others try to reduce it to musical interpretations of prayer texts, to the sound symbolism of the composer-spiritualist (A. Pirro). Still others believe that Bach sought to recreate in music as accurately as possible all the vicissitudes and accessories of the Sunday service and its sacraments (F. Wolfrum). Finally, A. Schweitzer, A. Hayes put forward a hypothesis about the composer's utopian intention to symbolically reunite the divided Western Christian church through his work in the synthesis of the Protestant and Catholic rites and dogma.

But music irrefutably testifies against these obviously false and one-sided interpretations. In terms of scale, expressive means and the composition of the performers, the Mass is clearly not intended for ritual service within church walls, not to mention the aesthetic qualities that are characteristic of its concept and figurative structure.

As for the circumstances under which the work was created (the well-known dedication of Kyrie and Gloria to Frederick Augustus of Saxony, etc.), these circumstances really confirm Lessing's bitter thought about "art that asks for bread." However, they do not explain either the origin of the High Mass, much less its inner content. After many cantatas, after oratorios, passions and the Magnificat, Bach wrote the Mass in B minor, not because he was in financial need, but because of the inner motives of his moral, philosophical and aesthetic nature. It is this work that in the purest and clearest form reveals the philosophical and ethical concept of the composer with its strengths, and in a certain sense, its weaknesses. He was religious and therefore chose for his purpose a cult, and not any other genre and traditional prayer text. Moreover, the music itself, for all its beauty, is not completely devoid of elements of religious ecstasy, contemplation, perhaps even detachment (in Credo). But no matter to what extent religious views and moods influenced the composer when he wrote his creation, the impulses of the great humanist artist turned out to be stronger, and this determined the final result: in general, basic features, the idea of the Mass and its musical embodiment are deeply humane and full artistically truthful, earthly beauty.

From oratorios, Magnificat, passions, it differs extremely. It does not capture pictures of life, festive or everyday. There is neither a narrative of events nor dramatic scenes in it, although legendary, pictorial, and especially dramatic elements are partly present in some of its individual parts. The true scope of the High Mass is human ideals in their ethically and aesthetically generalized expression.

Bach's younger contemporary, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, spoke of the generalizing beauty that arises on the path of an ideal depiction of phenomena. Bach did not and could not write recitatives for the Mass: there would be nothing to talk about in them and there would be no one to speak on behalf of any characters. Moreover, the Mass was created, of course, primarily for the Germans, and the traditionally cult Latin text on which the music was written was already very far away from the German people at that time. In addition, in some numbers (for example, the first choirs of Kyrie, where huge fugues are sung in just two words “Lord, have mercy”) the meaning of the text is rather formal; in others (for example, in the A major bass aria “And in the Holy Spirit”), the music comes into complete conflict with the words, and the classicist dogma that commands music to “follow in the footsteps of the poet” (Winckelmann) is violated:

The musical and poetic images of the Mass express the thoughts and feelings of the composer outside of any events (epos) and without characters (drama). This is a huge lyrical-philosophical poem of a symphonic plan, and in its music life is generally captured through the lyrical sphere.

Symphonism, even when applied to the first half of the 18th century, means the embodiment of a single idea through a wide and multifaceted development of contrasting images. Indeed, such a contrast lies at the heart of the High Mass. What is its poetic-expressive nature? Images of suffering, sorrow, sacrifice, humble prayer, bitter pathos, so characteristic of Passions, tragic cantatas, and, on the other hand, images of joy, light, the “triumph of truth” that dominate the Reformation Cantata and the Magnificat, are merged here in a gigantic synthesis, to which Bach never reached again, neither before nor after the High Mass. He is again close here to Lessing, who wrote about Sophocles' Philoctetes: “His groans belong to a man; actions - to the hero; and from these two sides arises the image of a human hero, who is not pampered, not insensitive, but represents the highest ideal achieved by the wisdom and art of the artist. For the first time in the pre-Bachian period, the idea of ascent from the depths, "from suffering to joy" received an organic and purposeful expression in such a broadly and clearly generalized form.

Hence the two main thematic spheres that dominate the vast twenty-four-movement cycle, and above all in its amazingly diverse and perfect choirs. One of them could, using the aesthetic categories of the same Lessing, be defined as the thematic of sorrow and suffering. The range of its expressive means is wide, but some of them clearly dominate, defining the emotional structure of the music: a minor scale (predominantly harmonic), slowly unfolding melodic lines, often in sequence links, saturated with intensely expressive chromatic intonations, a complex, finely detailed melody pattern. Rhythmic figures are dominated by even, calm, with long pronounced ostinati. The gloomy harmony in the tense phases of development is complicated by elliptical sequences, enharmonic modulations break through it, and sharply dissonant harmonies appear at the culminating peaks - reduced seventh chords, dominant non-chords, increased triads that stimulate the movement and expression of lyrical statements:

The polyphonic fabric in these choirs is dominated by light, transparent, although it is not always like this. The orchestra is modest in sound and timbre coloring. Almost throughout the sound stream, formative factors act and balance each other, on the one hand, raising the tone of the utterance and, on the other hand, preserving the measure of what is aesthetically permissible for it. These are “sighs, tears”, filled with greatness of spirit, and nowhere, except, perhaps, introductory. Adagio, they "do not turn into a scream or a cry" (Lessing).

But this general tendency is differentiated, it manifests itself very differently in the openly pouring out, indomitable pathos of the first five-part Kyrie and its inspired orchestral prelude; in the "inner flame" of the emotionally restrained four-part chromatic fugue of the second Kyrie; in the pleading and poetic lyrics of the chamber Qui tollis (“You, who have taken the sin of the world upon yourself, Do not reject our humble prayers.”), colored with charming instrumental figuration; in the cold impassive tread of the archaic Gregorian Credo; in the majestic soaring melos Incarnatus (“And incarnated” (fragment “I Believe”)); in ancient variations of Crucifixus, multifaceted and tragic; finally, in the huge double fugue Confiteor (On the repentance of sinners and the absolution of sins.), with its sudden intonational shifts and internal contrast (Bach's innovatively bold and fruitful interpretation of the chorus!).

This entire “sphere of suffering”, in addition to the common intonation structure, has its own unifying tonality - h-moll (with its natural fis-moll dominant and e-moll subdominant), and a single line of movement: a wide, emotionally intense exposition in Kyrie, a breakthrough - an elegiac episode in the middle of the hymnically light Gloria (complaint-plea Qui tollis), a tragic climax in Credo near the point of the golden section of the cycle (Crucifixus), finally, fading echoes, reminiscences in the minor arias of the final apotheosis (Sanctus). This is a line of fading development.

Another, contrasting thematic area of the Mass could be defined as the area of light, action and joy. It is she who constitutes the dominant of the entire cycle - not only harmonically (DIII), but also according to the philosophical and poetic intention of the composer. It embodies in Bach's way the ideal goal of mankind and the path leading to this goal. The main, most active images of this sphere are also contained in the choirs, but of a directly opposite expressive quality and meaning. It is dominated by the major diatonic mode, wide, dynamic-energetic vocal lines, often of a chord-fanfare contour (here Bach is sometimes close to Handel), with steep rises and gentle declines. In some places they are richly decorated with figuration - jubilant vocalizations-anniversaries:

And harmony is more diatonic, it moves mainly along close degrees of kinship. The rhythm is collected, active, varied, lively. The pace is fast, and the achievement is swiftly fast - the conquest of culminating peaks. Almost all of the choirs in this group are also fugues or include fugues. However, homophonic elements are expressed in them much more widely, and this is due to their genre nature: some are folk hymns (Gratias), others are dance choirs (Gloria, Osanna), others are march choirs (Cum sancto spiritu, Sanctus) . The presentation is rich and massive, the orchestra has more brightness, brilliance, even militancy of sound (trumpets, timpani). All this is quite secular, worldly, active-life music. She breathes power, the truth of being and soars high above the archaic, mystical text. The unifying tonality of this sphere of light and joy is D-dur. Of the eight choirs, seven are written in D major, which meets the general principles of Bach's aesthetics and harmony: D-dur - his key of heroic triumph, the key of the Magnificat and the Reformation Cantata.

The images of this circle also have their own, special line of formation and development. They are not immediately. The eight-movement “small cycle” Gloria following Kyrie is their huge contrasting exposition. In Credo they are pushed aside and obscured by religious contemplations, gloomy funeral processions, lamentations. But the active force that fills them has not dried up and again loudly declares itself; twice it bursts irresistibly wide in the choruses of Et resurrexit and towards the end of Confiteor. The five-part triumphal Sanctus embodies the final and complete affirmation of this thematic realm of light and action. Here the line of development moves dynamically upward.

Consequently, the dramaturgy of the Mass is such that its contrasting spheres aspire in opposite directions. Kyrie and Gloria form their exposition with h-D tonal ratio (I-III steps). Credo is a kind of developmental middle of a huge composition, tonally the most unstable, with episodes, suspensions, twists and turns. There, the contrasting beginnings are twice brought to direct rapprochement, and twice the first (suffering) is resolved into the second (joy). Sanctus - full of power, energy and light, the final major climax - can be defined as an incomplete dynamic reprise - tonal (D-dur), and partly thematic: the last choir of Dona nobis pacem repeats Gratias.

In addition to the main figurative and thematic elements of the cycle, it contains another one that is no longer independent, but nevertheless important: these are the arias and duets of the Mass. According to the text, they are completely organically included in the overall composition, especially in Credo, where the choir twice passes the unfinished phrases of the prayer verse to the soloists. The music of these numbers differs strikingly from the choirs. They have an emphasized chamber plan, chamber and superbly finely instrumented accompaniment: strings, continuo, sometimes with flutes and oboes d "amour. They are also excellent in genre appearance. Pastorals (duet Christe eleison), minuets, (aria Quoniam tu solus sanctus ), Sicilians (aria Et in spiritum sanctum), arias and ensembles of the coloratura style (aria Laudamus, duet Et in unum dominum Jesum Christum). Masterly performed, naturally, fresh-sounding small canons are woven into the homophonic texture. From lyrical-pathetic arias, so often culminating in passions, these small forms of the Mass are very distant. In most cases, their music is more of an intermedia plan - cheerful, sometimes almost everyday, playful, not demanding anything higher from the audience. The break with the liturgical text here is complete and final, at times it produces almost paradoxical impression on us. The dramatic role of these peculiar interludes is very significant. r, but, introducing into the Mass an element of secularization, emotionally vivid, full-blooded, sometimes openly connected with folk song and existing genres, he objectively more and more overcame the ritual and cult appearance of his work. The clear harmonic coloring spilled here, the frisky, moving melodies create a bright and lively environment that surrounds the choir array.

These chamber-lyrical pages of the score contribute to the formation of the main major-life-affirming trend of the cycle. Even at the very beginning of the Mass, the sad and gloomy Kyrie (h-moll, fis-moll) is cut through by an idyllic D major duet of two sopranos. This gap is a harbinger of the near Gloria. The tragic culmination of the Mass in the center of Credo, reminiscent of an ancient temple fresco faded from time to time, is framed by festive-sounding, through and through worldly music episodes: a brilliant, almost in the manner of Handel, coloratura duet of soprano and alto in G-dur and Mozart’s graceful, playful bass aria, where instead of God - the Holy Spirit, about which the symbol of faith mystically broadcasts, there are rather cheerful and temperamental characters of "Don Juan" or "The Wedding of Figaro". These are also numbers - the harbingers of the close D-dur "apotheosis - Sanctus. On the contrary, two small elegiac arias are inscribed in the bright, triumphantly festive composition of Sanctus "a before the final choir - Veneductus h-moll, tenor) and Agnus Dei (g-moll , alt). The restrained pathos of their vocal line of a winding wandering pattern, restless and changeable rhythm, tense intonations (tritones in Agnus Dei), frequent deviations of harmony and intense upsurges - forcing sequence chains leading to melodic heights - sound like the last beautiful and sad shadows of a tragedy that has been overcome, "fragments of torn darkness." This is also embossed in relief in the keys chosen by Bach. Benedictus - still in the original "tonic of darkness and sorrow" - h-moll; Agnus Dei is already in the minor subdominant of the new and final D-dur tonic. The effect of "lightening the shadow" is achieved here amazingly subtle and clear.

Thus, "intermedia" images are located in close proximity to the main line of development and act as factors in its formation.

Such is the dramaturgy of Bach's most profound and symphonic work.

K. Rosenshield

During his lifetime, Bach was not performed in its entirety, only the first two parts he sometimes used in Sunday services.

The Mass in B minor is called Bach's philosophical confession, the most complete expression of his attitude to the world. As in the Passions, the composer revealed here his life ideal, referring to that high in a person that is not subject to time: readiness for moral achievement, for self-sacrifice.

The philosophical content of the Mass was embodied in a monumental, innovative form that greatly expanded the scope of the traditional canon.

As you know, the ritual of the Mass - the central rite of Catholic worship - has evolved over many centuries; Prayer texts were also selected for a long time. In the 11th century, the text of the mass was canonized and fixed in the following sequence:

Kyrie eleison ("Lord have mercy");
Gloria ("Glory");
Credo ("I believe");
Santus ("Holy");
Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God").

As a musical form, the Mass developed by the 14th century. And if earlier the melodies of the Gregorian chant were assigned to separate parts, then over time the music acquired an independent artistic significance.

Having retained the main canonized parts, Bach expands their scale by separating each text section into a separate number - there are 24 of them in total. Each part appears as a strictly thought-out composition. At the level of parts, one can observe the action of various factors of unity. This is an internal grouping of numbers, and various thematic arches, and tonal connections.

In addition, an important unifying role in the dramaturgy of the Mass is played by the constant alternation of monumental and chamber plans. The monumental plan is represented by deployed choirs. To them the Mass owes the grandeur of its scale. The second plan, chamber-lyrical, consists of duets, 3 choirs (No. 8, 15, 16) and 6 arias.

In the Mass in B minor, two main figurative worlds of Bach's music were generalized: the world of suffering, deep sorrow and the world of light, joy, jubilation, triumph. The repeated comparison of these brightly contrasting spheres form the basis of an effective, truly symphonic development.

The line of through development of the sphere of sorrow and suffering originates in Part I - "Kyrie". It is based on the three-part traditional for this section of the mass: 2 mournful choirs to the same text "Kyrie eleison" surround the bright duet "Christe eleison". Both choirs are sustained in a polyphonic warehouse (the first is a 5-voice fugue, the second is a 4-voice).

The first choir is close to the spirit of passions, gives rise to the idea of a procession of people crushed by grief. The theme of the fugue is distinguished by a gloomy minor color, an abundance of chromatisms, tense intervals (tritones, mind 7), emphasis on the “intonation of a sigh”, ladotonal instability (deviation in e-moll), and the predominance of even rhythmic movement at a slow pace. Melodious intonations are combined in it with declamatory turns.

The second choir "Kyrie" represents a completely different reading of the same text - in his music there is not a passionate plea, but ascetic rigor. The choir is sustained in the spirit of strict polyphony of the 16th century.

The exposition of the second sphere - joy and exultation - is "Gloria"(although No. 2 - the bright and serene duet "Christe eleison" - has already partially outlined this line).

The music of the Gloria Choir (No. 4) is like a hymn of praise. His theme begins first in the orchestra, in which the festive sonority of the trumpets stands out. Then the choir joins the orchestra with the words "Glory to God in the highest."

The melody of the choir combines fanfare intonations with virtuoso vocalizations, where one syllable of the text is sung into many sounds (this type of melody comes from “anniversaries”). The light and precise movement in 3/8 is reminiscent of the music of Bach's dance suites. This choir echoes with its general solemn-triumphant mood with other D-dur choirs both in the II and IV (Sanсtus) parts of the Mass.

Although the II part of the mass is generally sustained in festive colors, it continues to develop the line of grief coming from the Kyrie choirs, in particular, in the central number - choir No. 8, Qui tollis(“You who have accepted the sins of the world”). Here the tonality of h-moll returns, the music again approaches passions in spirit. However, her character is rather touching, elegiac than sorrowful, the sound is chamber. The main individual feature is the melody of the solo flute, which creates a background for the choral voices.

The main content of the III part ( Credo) is concentrated in the three middle choirs, where there is a brief narrative of how Christ took on human form (No. 15, "Et incarnates"- “And being incarnate”), suffered and was crucified (No. 16, "Crucifixus"- “Crucified”), and then resurrected again (No. 17, "Et resurrexit"- "And risen"). These three choirs are the ideological and figurative center of the entire work. Choirs No. 15 and 16 are connected by a common content: both continue the mournful line of the mass, with "Crucifixus" being its peak, the tragic culmination of the mass.

This number can be called a choral lamento. His music embodies the tragic image of crucifixion, martyrdom, which attracted many painters of the 16th-17th centuries, including German ones (Grunewald, Dürer). In music, variations on the basso ostinato were considered the ideal form to embody such content. Bach picks up this tradition. The theme underlying the variations is a segment of the chromatic scale from degree I to degree V. It is repeated 13 times invariably, with the harmony changing each time.

The harmonic variations of the orchestra are combined with the polyphonic variations of the choir. From the very beginning, there is no continuous voice leading - the voices appear as if scattered, "incoherently", repeating the same intonation of sorrow - descending m.2.

The juxtaposition of this choir with the next one, No. 17, forms the most striking contrast within the entire Mass. The essence of the contrast is the transition from death to resurrection. "Et resurrexit"- this is the pinnacle in the development of images of jubilation and triumph, and the whole complex of expressive means is aimed at embodying a feeling of all-consuming joy. In the very first measures, the entire orchestra with trumpets enters simultaneously with the choir. Undoubted features of the festive concert (comparison of different registers, virtuoso brilliance). The nature of the movement and the rhythm of the polonaise are used. The melody, starting with an energetic ascending fourth, uncontrollably strives upwards, while its structure is symmetrical.

In the 5th, most concise part of the mass (only 2 numbers), all strong figurative contrasts recede: it does not contain anything festively triumphal or acutely tragic. There remains the memory of the tragedy experienced in the alto aria (No. 23, "Agnus Dei" - "Lamb of God") and fortitude, calm confidence in the final chorus. The music of the choir is a repetition of No. 6 "Gratias" ("Thank you"), but with different words - "Dona nobis pacem" ("Give us peace").

The expression of sorrow in the aria has a shade of meekness and gentleness, its main content is pacified sadness.

The tonality is characteristic - not h-moll or e-moll, but g-moll. This key - minor S-ta D-dur - is a link between the images of sorrow (minor) and joy (major).

J.S. Bach Mass in B Minor

The most monumental and large-scale masterpiece of Johann Sebastian Bach still collects large concert halls today. Beautiful music penetrates the depths of the heart and awakens the most exalted thoughts and aspirations in a person. It is amazing how strong the influence the creation of the son of man can have on other people.

Mass

Almost all composers, to one degree or another, turned to sacred music. There were also those who wrote exclusively for church services. They are little known to the general public. The great authors, who entered the history of world musical culture, more often wrote concert versions of liturgical hymns on the canonical text. The theme of the relationship between man and God is one of the deepest, philosophical, allowing to express a very complex range of human feelings and thoughts.

The Mass as a musical genre developed around the 14th-15th century. Traditionally, it included the most significant parts of the liturgical service in Catholicism:

Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy);
Gloria (Glory);
Credo (Symbol of Faith "I Believe");
Sanctus (Holy);
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).

The names are taken from the initial words of cult prayers. The religious text was always unchanged and was performed by the choir and soloists, accompanied by body in Latin. Later, solemn masses began to be written with orchestral sound. The Catholic Mass has always been more pompous and colorful even for a church performance, not to mention the stage. In comparison with it, Orthodox ceremonial service is more modest, external effects were actively condemned by churchmen, and even works intended for the stage were also written P.I. Chaikovsky, S.V. Rachmaninoff, S.I. Taneev and many others appeal to the inner voice of the human soul. Whereas the Catholic Mass glorifies the greatness and triumph of the Absolute God. These features are also visible in music.

History of creation

Bach worked on this monumental work for more than a dozen years. Starting to write it in 1724, finished around 1749. But at the same time, most of the included musical material (two-thirds) was taken from previously written works, and the composer made corrections until his death. The Mass in B Minor became for him central in all his creative work, a pinnacle and an offering to that life-giving power that endowed him with an extraordinary musical gift.

Johann Sebastian himself was a Lutheran by religion. But the elector (ruler), in whose service he was, converted to Catholicism, becoming the king of Poland. Gradually, the entire Dresden court switched to Catholicism. Bach, who at that time was a court composer with a very substantial salary and, in connection with this, had great artistic freedom, strove to fulfill his duties conscientiously. So there were several oratorios, masses and cantatas.

For the first time, the notes of the first two parts (“Kyrie” and “Gloria”) he sent to his ruler in 1733, accompanied by a modest request to appreciate not at their true worth, but the greatest mercy of the sovereign. At that moment, he expected to get the position of court bandmaster, after 4 years he took it.

Researchers have put forward many assumptions about what served as the main motive for the creation of this majestic and grandiose work. According to one version, Bach expected to complete it by the opening of a new church in Dresden in the late 1740s. But its construction was delayed until 1751. The year before, in 1750, Johann Sebastian Bach had died.

It was also assumed that it was expected in finished form for a certain event in Vienna in St. Stephen's Cathedral. This information is based on Bach's relationship with a certain high-ranking official, Count Johann Adam von Questenberg. But most likely, it was about the performance of some numbers.

And yet, most of the Bakhovists are inclined to believe that the composer himself sought to significantly expand the possibilities of performing sacred music, perhaps he himself, with the insight inherent in genius, foresaw the subsequent development of musical art and its role in the life of society.

The manuscript has been preserved in the archives of Johann Sebastian's second known son, Philipp Emmanuel Bach. He also owns the orchestral introduction before "Credo", which was absent in the author's score. Presumably, the name "High" for the mass appeared with the light hand of the publisher Zimrok in 1845.

Bach High Mass in B Minor

Johann Sebastian Bach lived at a time when composers were financially supported by the Church and the aristocracy. All his life he worked in various parishes as an organist. Moreover, he was well known in Protestant Germany as an excellent performer-organist, teacher and musician. He also had a chance to work as a court bandmaster and a prominent public figure, composing music for entertainment events and ceremonies. Thus, in his entire life he wrote over 1000 works of a secular and spiritual nature.

The H-moll Mass became the central work of his entire work. His genius thought and designed it for a long time. Although art critics officially state that he worked on it from 1733 to 1738, there is evidence that the idea could well have appeared as early as 1724. Considering the grandeur of the idea, this would be quite natural.

Bach's approach to rethinking the Mass is significantly different from the traditional one for that time. Mainly content. In his work, deep philosophical reflection reigns, a kind of monologue and an appeal to God on behalf of a mortal. This is not a prayer in its classical sense, the ideological concept of such an appeal is much deeper. The words of the canonical text here rather help to "speak" the appropriate language. But the drama is built according to all the laws of drama - there is a conflict, opposition, many contrasts, images of sadness, humility, glee and rage, anger are complete and complete.

Bach took the traditional numbers and expanded them significantly, adding several additional sections to each. As a result, the entire Mass in B Minor contained 24 numbers. It is obvious that during Bach's lifetime this musical form could not be embodied - it requires the highest skill from the performers, which is not available to the church choir, and in the secular space there was no format for listening to such a complex musical work on a religious text (as now - a concert). But individual numbers ("Kyrie", "Gloria") were performed.

The goals and motives that prompted the composer to create this masterpiece are still the subject of scientific discussions. Carl Emmanuel Bach (the son of Johann Sebastian, who became famous a little less than his father), called him the Great Catholic Mass. The first performance of the entire mass is documented in 1859. By the middle of the 19th century, it was widely recognized as one of the greatest compositions in the history of music, and today it is considered the best vocal and choral work.

Music of the Mass in B minor

In form, this is a closed cyclic product, consisting of 24 numbers. Each of them can be performed separately, all together they have many unifying elements - this is the tonal plan, and the so-called "thematic arches", the sequence of numbers. The expansion of the number of numbers, while maintaining the original text unchanged, became possible by separating individual phrases from the prayer into a whole opus. This also allowed the composer to place his own semantic accents in the content.

The richness of the images of the mass is amazing. Here there is grief, quiet joy, solemn rejoicing, hope, suffering. The whole gamut of true human feelings is conveyed by the composer with amazing authenticity and power. On the contrasting comparison of images, the alternation of choral and solo parts, chamber and tutty, the basic principle of dramatic development, similar to the symphonic one, is built. In this, the author was also ahead of his contemporaries working in the polyphonic style.

The instruments of the orchestra and musical means embody lyrical images. Thus, the theme of sorrow and suffering (which began in the first number of “Kyrie eleison”) is conveyed by the sound of strings, the melody is dominated by minor, many chromaticisms, “intonations of a sigh”. The theme of light and calm meditation is expressed by woodwinds, major scale, soft harmonious turns, transparent texture. The theme of the triumph and affirmation of faith takes place in brass, in major, in ascending intonations. The change of timbre colors organically supports the idea of opposition.

Mass opens with a five-voice fugue « Kyrieeleison". The powerful introductory forte is like the cry of sinners crying out for forgiveness. This is the collective repentance of the entire human race, symbolized by the choir. Divided into 3 parts, the prayer “Lord, have mercy” in the center has a contrasting light verse “Christe eleison” (Christ, have mercy), which will become a prototype of the future celebration in “Gloria” (“Glory”). A complex end-to-end figurative development is built on a similar mechanism of interweaving images from different spheres into the musical and dramatic material.

Listening to a piece has a tremendous impact on the listener. Written with the greatest composing and psychological skill, more than 250 years ago, today it not only has not lost its relevance. It is more necessary, clearer and more accessible to the thinking of modern man than at the time when it was created.

Interesting Facts

In this work, Bach not only reproduced his earlier works, he also brought in much from those composers who lived before him or at the same time with him, about whom we already know little now, but they inspired him.
I.S. Bach did not name the Mass. He kept notes in 4 folders, each had its own title: "Missa" ("Kyrie" and "Gloria"), "Symbolum Nicenum" ("Symbol of Faith" - "Credo"), "Sanctus" and "Osanna".
There are 2 autographs of the work. One contains a 1733 score written in Dresden (part of "Kyrie" and "Gloria"). The second is a complete autograph with all the changes made by the author before 1749, inherited by CPE Bach ("Hamburg" or "Berlin" Bach, son of Johann Sebastian Carl Philipp Emmanuel).
One of the versions why the mass has a second name “High” is that, in contrast to cantatas, passions, oratorios, having no direct purpose to be performed during the service, the true orbit of its ideas is the ethical and aesthetic ideals of an ordinary person.
The Mass was admired by many outstanding composers, recognizing its exceptional significance and the standard of lyrical and philosophical themes in music.

Modern practice of performance and interpretation

In the surviving score, the composition for the performance of the mass is indicated by the author's hand: choir (about 15 people, including soloists), 2 violins, 1 viola, continuo, 2 flutes, 2 oboe(or 3), three pipes, timpani. Over the past time, the concert performing art has been significantly transformed. It has come a long way, being influenced by those innovations that appeared in music.

Therefore, you can often hear the performance of early music in several interpretations. Thus, Bach's Mass in B minor was performed for a long time under the influence of romantic tendencies - a tendency to slow down, intensify all nuances, monumentalization. One example is the performance of a Mass conducted by conductor Karl Richter. His interpretation is now considered classical, it is less similar to the original version of I.S. Bach and in general on the style of baroque music, but it has unconditional artistic value.

In contrast, there is an authentic interpretation by the Belgian (Flemish) authenticist Philippe Herreweghe (b. 1847). He completely recreates the performing style corresponding to the era of Bach, and uses ancient instruments. This more strict, even ascetic performance, nevertheless, influences the music itself on the depths of the human soul.

Popular interpreters of the Mass in B minor also include Helmut Rilling, Frans Bruggen, John Elliot Gardiner.

Mass in B minor Johann Sebastian Bach considered the highest achievement in academic musical culture. This is the highest level of understanding of earthly and sublime nature, embodied in music. Only truly super-genius compositions become more and more important for mankind after centuries.

Video: listen to Mass in B minor

Cast: soprano I, soprano II, alto, tenor, bass, two choirs, orchestra.

The genre of the mass has historically developed in the form of a five-part work consisting of a plea for forgiveness (Kyrie), a hymn of praise and thanksgiving (Gloria), a dogmatic part - a creed (Credo), a liturgical culmination taken from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah (Sanctus), and a conclusion, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ (Agnus Dei). At first the text of the mass was read, later it began to be sung. For some time, both of these forms coexisted, but by the 14th century, a single musical form had finally taken shape. Mass h-moll Bach is incredibly large compared to traditional ones. It also contains five parts - Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei - but these, in turn, are divided into several separate numbers.

Part 1 consists of Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy), Christe eleison (Christ have mercy) and Kyrie eleison II.

There are three numbers in the 4th part - Sanctus Dominus Deos (Holy Lord God), Osanna (Help us), Benedictus (Blessed).

Part 5 consists of two numbers: Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and Dona nobis pacem (Give us peace).

The mass in h-moll is a grand creation that the composer has been working on for decades. Approximately two-thirds of it consists of previously written music, but it is a single composition. The 1st part of the mass, at first as an independent work, was completed by the composer in 1733, but the date of its first performance is unknown. There is information about the first performance of the Sanctus on December 25, 1724, Kyrie and Gloria on April 21, 1733 in Leipzig, as well as a mention of the performance of the Mass in 1734. There is evidence that the 2nd and 3rd parts were created from August 1748 to October 1749, after which the entire score, which included the Mass of 1733 as the 1st part, and Sanctus as the 4th part , has been put together. Unfortunately, there is no information about its performance during the composer's lifetime.

Music

Movement 1, Kyrie, in three numbers, opens with a sombre choir, followed by a fugue, first orchestral. Her mournful theme, as if writhing in agony, is full of the deepest expressiveness. At the beginning of the 2nd part, Gloria (No. 4), trumpets sound joyfully, lightly. The choir picks up the jubilant theme, proclaiming glory. Wide, sing-song melodies dominate here. Particularly prominent is No. 5, Laudamus, a soprano aria accompanied by a solo violin, as if one of the choir's voices broke out with its lyrical song. The third movement, Credo (Nos. 12-19), is dominated by dramatic contrasts. In No. 12, Credo in unum Deum - a wide, strict Gregorian chant melody passes sequentially (in imitation) for all the voices of the choir against the background of the solemn and measured movement of orchestral basses. No. 15, Et incarnatus, returns to mournful images. Heavy measured bass notes seem to be pressing down, the "sighs" of the strings sound plaintively. A simple, strict, full of hidden suffering melody is intoned by the choir. The voices are layered one on top of the other, creating a rich musical fabric. Mournful reflection leads to the next issue (No. 16), Crucifixus, the tragic culmination of the Mass, the story of the Savior's suffering on the Cross. In this heartfelt episode, written in the spirit of the Italian lamento aria, Bach used the form of the passacaglia. Thirteen times the same melody appears in the bass - a measured, steadily descending gloomy chromatic move. Against its background, separate chords of stringed and wooden instruments appear, fragmentary, like sighs and lamentations, replicas of the choir. At the end, the melody descends lower and lower, dies, and, as if exhausted, dies. Everything is silent. And immediately, with a wide, jubilant stream of light, everyone is flooded with the sounds of the choir Et resurrexit (No. 17), singing the Resurrection, the victory of life over death. The combined 4th and 5th movements open with a majestic slow motion of the Sanctus choir (No. 20) with female voices celebrating anniversaries. In the orchestra, trumpet fanfare, timpani drumming sound. No. 23, Agnus Dei - a soulful viola aria with a flexible melody, accompanied by expressive singing of the violins. The final number of the mass, No. 24, Dona nobis pacem is a solemn hymn in the form of a fugue on two themes, exactly repeating the choir No. 6, Gratias.

L. Mikheeva

The more concentrated the sorrow, the more tragic it reaches, the stronger the uplift and the more dazzling the light of the episode that comes to replace it. For example, in the Credo center, which consists of eight rooms, there are several associated with the image of Jesus: "Et incarnatus", "Crucifixus", "Et ressurexit". Each of the above numbers is completely finished and can be performed separately. But just as it happens in some instrumental cyclical works - sonatas, symphonies - the ideological concept, the dynamics of artistic and poetic images unite all three numbers with a line of internal development. Et incarnatus speaks of the birth of a man who will take upon himself the sins of the world; in Crucifixus, the crucifixion and death of Jesus; in "Et ressurexit" about his resurrection. As always with Bach, the pages dedicated to Jesus, the suffering man, are the most penetrating and emotionally rich.

In opposition to death and the all-conquering power of life is the hidden meaning of this peculiar cycle. Various aspects of the same idea constitute the main content of the entire work.

B-minor mass crowns the work of Bach. It is the B minor Mass, a work in which the true nature of Bach's art, complex, powerful and beautiful, was revealed with utmost depth.

V. Galatskaya

Celine Scheen: soprano
. Yetzabel Arias: soprano
. Pascal Bertin: countertenor
. Makoto Sakurada: tenor
. Stephan Macleod: bass

Le Concert des Nations & La Capella Reial de Catalunya