BBC CHORUS SINGS BACH'S B Minor Mass under JOHN BUTT 05.02 at 19.30

[edashtav]

I thought the tenors had a tougher time than the sops. Bit perplexed about the intonation problems - not usually an issue with the BBC chorus. I guess the Mass is up there with the Missa Solemnis in terms of rarity of performance , difficulty and is even more exposed - really no hiding place. I think intonation got better as the work progressed though.

You're right about the tenors... I left them out because one or two of their entries are as high and taxing as bivouacing in a gale on top of Mount Everest.

Yes, good intonation has been a characteristic of the BBC Chorus for as long as I can remember.

Were the acoustics to blame , I wonder?

[EnemyoftheStoat]

If you wanted an odder 90th “birthday present” for the BBC Symphony Chorus, to use the proper name, I’m not sure you could have found one: this ticked quite a few of the wrong boxes, starting with an unfamiliar conductor in repertoire patently unsuited to the BBCSC’s strengths - whatever they are nowadays. How odd, with 150-plus on stage (according to one reviewer) not to perform a piece that would have worked with that number. And the BBCSC packs a wallop - way under numbers for last year’s Prom Brahms Req, but it still cut the mustard. Odd is the word.

[edashtav]

If you wanted an odder 90th “birthday present” for the BBC Symphony Chorus, to use the proper name, I’m not sure you could have found one: this ticked quite a few of the wrong boxes, starting with an unfamiliar conductor in repertoire patently unsuited to the BBCSC’s strengths - whatever they are nowadays. How odd, with 150-plus on stage (according to one reviewer) not to perform a piece that would have worked with that number. And the BBCSC packs a wallop - way under numbers for last year’s Prom Brahms Req, but it still cut the mustard. Odd is the word.

Did it have to be so?
Before the broadcast,I was full of confidence and expectation that John Butt would lead The BBCSC and orchestra away from the British oratorio tradition and towards the righteous groves where the hippy priests of Dunedin consort in bliss and harmony.Doversoul1 suggested that Butt was more than capable having led a big Polish Choir to the Elysian fields.

So, what went so sour and stodgy in the Barbican Hall?

[doversoul1]

Did it have to be so?
Before the broadcast,I was full of confidence and expectation that John Butt would lead The BBCSC and orchestra away from the British oratorio tradition and towards the righteous groves where the hippy priests of Dunedin consort in bliss and harmony.Doversoul1 suggested that Butt was more than capable having led a big Polish Choir to the Elysian fields.

So, what went so sour and stodgy in the Barbican Hall?

The concert didn’t come through well on the radio? Or Maybe the difference in music between Bach’s and Handel’s. Handel’s oratorio is, although the subject is religious, primarily an entertainment. In the youtube video, you can see John Butt grinning away and almost hopping about as he leads the performers. My completely unfounded guess is that he didn’t quite believe in performing Bach in this form.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

tells me that I should have been sat next to John Butt's sister!

[edashtav]

Apologies for having given you grammatical collywobbles, Alpie.
Report "Ed must concentrate more and check what he's written."

[edashtav]

I'm afraid that Stephen Pritchard's Review for BachTrack identifies many of the Choral flaws that we have mentioned.

He ends thus:
"Throughout the evening there were some nicely handled obbligatos from soloists within the orchestra, and it was refreshing to hear them on sleek, modern instruments – no authentic woofly flutes or wobbly horns here – and yet this will not go down as a memorable Mass in B minor. Such a large body of singers simply cannot produce the fleetness of foot necessary for this exacting music, nor could John Butt, with all his experience, do much to improve matters – a shame in what should have been a highlight of the BBC Symphony Chorus’s 90th year celebrations."

In the interests of balance, I should add that Pedro Correa Martín-Arroyo on ClassicalSource described the performance as "top-class".

[ardcarp]

Before the broadcast,I was full of confidence and expectation that John Butt would lead The BBCSC and orchestra away from the British oratorio tradition and towards the righteous groves where the hippy priests of Dunedin consort in bliss and harmony

I too didn't last the course...in fact didn't get to the first fence. 'Falling between two stools' came to mind. Better maybe if John Butt had gone the whole hog and embraced, let's say, a Birningham Town Hall 1850-1950 tradition. It would have been another sort of HIPP.

As far as tenors are concerned, singing it at A440 is a bit knackering...especially if you've rehearsed all afternoon.

[oddoneout]

Not so much a missed opportunity but a botched opportunity? It's a pity when notable anniversaries end up being notable for the wrong reasons.
I agree with Steven Pritchard's comments about the nicely handled obbligatos but the rest of that sentence could have been omitted in my view - "authentic woofly flutes or wobbly horns" are not inevitable in HIPP performances, and "sleek modern instruments" (especially of the brass variety) can bring their own problems.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I too didn't last the course...in fact didn't get to the first fence. 'Falling between two stools' came to mind. Better maybe if John Butt had gone the whole hog and embraced, let's say, a Birningham Town Hall 1850-1950 tradition. It would have been another sort of HIPP.

As far as tenors are concerned, singing it at A440 is a bit knackering...especially if you've rehearsed all afternoon.

A very good point. Leave A440 for the pros. Also no matter what the pitch a full B minor mass run through on the day would surely leave little in reserve. Presumably they would mark ?