B Minor Mass

[David-G]

Very fine performance of the B Minor Mass this evening, live from the chapel of Trinity College Cambridge, to celebrate a 700th anniversary, with the college choir and the OAE.

I thought the sound quality of this broadcast was stunning. It had a sort of warm glow which drew me in, I found it very hard to tear myself away to do all the things that needed doing this evening. A marvellous broadcast to demonstrate the qualities of the Arcam DAC and the Spendor BC3s. It really felt that Trinity Chapel was in my living room.

[BBMmk2]

Thank you David-G. A good excuse to have an indulgence!

[oddoneout]

Very fine performance of the B Minor Mass this evening, live from the chapel of Trinity College Cambridge, to celebrate a 700th anniversary, with the college choir and the OAE.
I thought the sound quality of this broadcast was stunning. It had a sort of warm glow which drew me in, I found it very hard to tear myself away to do all the things that needed doing this evening. A marvellous broadcast to demonstrate the qualities of the Arcam DAC and the Spendor BC3s. It really felt that Trinity Chapel was in my living room.

I had cleared the decks, so to speak, to listen to this as my sister was playing.Sadly I couldn't take up her invitation to attend the concert but tucked up in front of a log fire to listen was a pretty good alternative. Even on my very low-fi setup the sound was excellent and I agree with the sense of 'being there'.
Particular highlights for me were the robust and fearless horn solo in 'Tu solus'; trumpets in 'Cum sancto'; the choir whisper of 'et sepultus est', pause, and then full throttle 'et resurrexit' - which made me jump; musical rather than simply percussive timpani; Iestyn Davis' heart-rending 'Agnus dei'.
The recording may be one to look out for? I'm hoping I might get one given in due course courtesy of sis.

[ardcarp]

I was completely drawn in by this performance. It is hard to imagine any choir singing it better than TCC in the hands of Sid Layton. Phrasing, dynamics, total unanimity of vowel-sounds...they have it all. What a soprano line! Iestyn sang to perfection, and the band led by Maggie Faultless played with panache and great sensitivity. If it is possible, the second half (beginning with the Credo) was even more inspiring than the first. It is common nowadays to hear the B minor on disc with minimal forces, even OVPP. I do hope TCC will record this, because a choral version of such quality (albeit using a chamber-sized choir) is surely needed?