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Bach - Mass in B Minor / Biller, Gewandhausorchestra |
List Price: $24.99
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Recorded in 2000 at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig where the composer worked as cantor for 25 years, this performance of Bach's Mass in B minor commemorates the 250th anniversary of his birthday. Conductor Georg Christoph Biller was himself cantor in 2000, while most of the ensemble has strong links with the Bach tradition. Hence, this is a faithful, if orthodox, rendering of a religious work that seems to transcend creed, a glorious musical valediction that soars aloft into the cathedral rafters and beyond. Certainly, this is the feeling evoked in the performances of English soprano Ruth Holton, among others. The power of the performances is poignantly contrasted with visual extracts of Bach's original score, his enfeebled handwriting indicative of his failing health. Yet the Mass in B minor has succeeded in achieving immortality and universality--a fine last testament from a composer who seems to have more resonance with contemporary audiences than most of his classical descendants. --David Stubbs
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