Hohe Messe – Collegium vocale Gent (Dresden)

Johann Sebastian Bach [1685–1750]

Missa in h-moll BWV 232 (B-minor Mass)

Dorothee Mields soprano
Sophie Harmsen mezzo-soprano
Alex Potter countertenor
Reinoud Van Mechelen tenor
Kresimir Strazanac bass

Collegium Vocale Gent choir
Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra
Philippe Herreweghe conductor
Hohe Messe

Johann Sebastian Bach “composed” his Mass in B Minor in his last years, although most of it was much older, some of it written as early as 1724. Bach never witnessed a performance of the piece in its entirety, but it is doubtful if it was even intended for use in a service. It was simply too long for either Lutheran Leipzig or Dresden’s Catholic court. But the question of why it was composed is not important, given its reputation as “one of the greatest and most universal artworks in music history”.

Quelle: www.collegiumcvocale.de