BaL 11.02.17 - Bach: Mass in B minor

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

0930
Building a Library: Sir Nicholas Kenyon sifts through the available recordings of Bach's B minor Mass. It was one of Bach's last compositions, completed in 1749, the year before his death. He refashioned music that he had composed throughout his career. The Mass was never performed in its entirety during Bach's lifetime but is now regarded as a supreme masterpiece.



Available versions:


Sophie Bevan, Clint van der Linde, Ben Johnson, Hakan Vramsmo, Colin Campbell, Rodolfus Choir & Southern Sinfonia, Ralph Allwood

Christine Schafer, Ingeborg Danz, Markus Schafer, Thomas Quasthoff, Windsbach Boys Choir, German Chamber Academy Neuss, Karl-Friedrich Beringer

Mechthild Bach, Daniel Taylor, Marcus Ullmann, Raimund Nolte, Kammerchor Stuttgart & Barock-Orchester Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius

Ruth Holton, Christoph Genz, Klaus Mertens, Matthias Rexroth, Thomanerchor Leipzig, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Georg Christoph Biller (download)

Ruth Holton, Matthias Rexroth, Christoph Genz, Klaus Mertens, Thomanerchor Leipzig & Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Georg Christoph Biller (DVD)

Reglint Bühler, Susanne Krumbiegel, Susanne Langner, Martin Lattke, Markus Flaig, Thomanerchor Leipzig & Freiburger Barockorchester (playing on authentic period instruments), Georg Christoph Biller (DVD/Blu-ray)

Ute Selbig, Susanne Krumbiegel, Elisabeth Wilke, Martin Petzold & Gotthold Schwarz, Thomanerchor Leipzig & Leipziger Barockorchester, Georg Christoph Biller

Ruth Ziesak, Anna Larsson, Christoph Genz, Dietrich Henschel, GewandhausKammerchor & Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Herbert Blomstedt (DVD/Blu-ray)

Faridah Schafer Subrata, Friederike Wagner, Martina Koppelstetter, Markus Schafer, Hartmut Elbert, Slovak Philharmonic Chorus, Capella Istropolitana, Christian Brembeck (download)

Dorothee Mields, Johannette Zomer, Patrick van Goethem, Jan Kobow, Peter Kooij, Cappella Amsterdam & Orchestra of the 18th Century, Frans Brüggen

Jennifer Smith, Michael Chance, Nico van der Meel, Harry van der Kamp, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Orchestra of the 18th Century, Members, Orchestra Of The 18th Century, Frans Brüggen (download)

Gotthold Schwarz, Marcus Ullmann, Joanne Lunn, Ursula Eittinger, Hanoverian Court Orchestra, Maulbronn Chamber Choir, Jurgen Budday (download)

Susan Hamilton, Cecilia Osmond, Margot Oitzinger, Thomas Hobbs, Matthew Brook, Dunedin Consort & Players, John Butt

Barbara Bonney, Ruxandra Donose-Danila, Cornelia Wulkopf, Peter Schreier, Yaron Windmüller, Anton Scharinger, Bach-Chor des Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz & Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache

Catherine Dubosc, Catherine Denley, James Bowman, John Mark Ainsley & Michael George
The Sixteen, The Symphony of Harmony and Invention, Harry Christophers

Lydia Teuscher, Ida Falk Winland, Tim Mead, Samuel Boden, Neal Davies, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen

Yumiko Tanimura, Valerie Bonnard, Sebastien Droy, Christian Immler, Ensemble Vocal, Instrumental de Lausanne, Michel Corboz

Sandrine Piau, Bernarda Fink, Markus Schäfer, Marcos Fink
Ensemble de Lausanne, Michel Corboz (download)

Wilsberg Lund, Frederika Brillembourg, Carsten Süß, Raimund Nolte, EuropaChorAkademie & Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Joshard Daus (download)

Christina Landshamer, Anke Vondung, Kenneth Tarver, Andreas Wolf, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks & Concerto Köln, Peter Dijkstra

Christina Landshamer, Anke Vondung, Maximilian Schmitt, Andreas Wolf, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks & Concerto Köln, Peter Dijkstra (DVD)

Christina Hogman, Monica Groop, Howard Crook, Petteri Salomaa, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, Mikaeli Chamber Choir, Anders Eby

Kathleen Ferrier, Peter Pears, Norman Walker, BBC Chorus, Boyd Neel Orchestra, George Enescu

Barbara Bonney, Monica Groop, Klas Hedlund, Gunnar Lundberg (bass), Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Eric Ericson

Roberta Invernizzi, Lynne Dawson, Gloria Banditelli, Christoph Prégardien, Klaus Mertens, Coro della Radio Svizzeria, Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca, Diego Fasolis

Tamara Matthews, Rosa Lamoreaux, Marietta Simpson, Frederick Urrey, William Sharp, Daniel Lichti, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, The Bach Festival Orchestra, Greg Funfgeld

Lynne Dawson, Nancy Argenta & Michael Chance, The Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Hannah Morrison, Esther Brazil, Meg Bragle, Kate Symonds-Joy, Peter Davoren, Nick Pritchard, Alex Ashworth, David Shipley, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner

Jenny Hill, Janet Baker, Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk, New Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini

Ruth Ziesak, Roberta Alexander, Jard van Nes, Keith Lewis, David Wilson-Johnson, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Carlo Maria Giulini

Pierrette Alarie, Catherina Delfosse, Grace Hoffman, Léopold Simoneau, Heinz Rehfuss, Amsterdam Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra, Walter Goehr

Fritz Wunderlich, Erich Wenk, Margarethe Bence, Friederike Sailer, Swabian Choral Society, Bach Festival Orchestra, Hans Grischkat (download)

Miriam Meyer, Britta Schwarz, Markus Brutscher, Klaus Mertens, Ensemble Frauenkirche, Kammerchor der Frauenkirche, Matthias Grunert

Orchester der Klangverwaltung, Chorgemeinschaft Neubeuern, Enoch zu Guttenberg (DVD)

Rotraud Hansmann, Emiko Iiyama, Helen Watts, Kurt Equiluz & Max Van Egmond, Vienna Boys’ Choir, Viennensis Chorus & Concentus musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Gundula Anders, Mona Spägele, Ursula Fiedler, Jürgen Banholzer, Hermann Oswald, Stephen McLeod, Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Freiburger Barockorchester, Thomas Hengelbrock

Barbara Schlick, Catherine Patriasz, Charles Brett, Howard Crook, Peter Kooy, Chorus & Orchestra of Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe

Nancy Argenta, Catherine Denley, Mark Tucker, Stephen Varcoe, Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox

Hillevi Martinpelto, Bernarda Fink, Axel Köhler, Christoph Prégardien, Matthias Goerne, Franz-Josef Selig, RIAS-Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs

Helen Donath, Brigitte Fassbaender, Claes H. Ahnsjö, Roland Hermann, Robert Holl
Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Eugen Jochum

Chapelle Vocale de Romainmôtier, Ensemble Musica Poetica, Michel Jordan (download)

Cantus Cölln, Konrad Junghänel

Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Kathleen Ferrier, Walter Ludwig, Paul Schöffler, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Singverein, Herbert von Karajan

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Marga Hoffgen, Orchesterverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wiener Singverein, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan (download)

Kathleen Ferrier, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Walther Ludwig, Paul Schoffler, Vienna Singverein, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Nicolai Gedda, Marga Hoffgen, Heinz Refhuss, Friends of Music Choral Society, Vienna, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan

Gundala Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, Peter Schreier, Robert Kerns, Karl Ridderbusch, Wiener Singverein, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

Agnes Giebel, Dame Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Hermann Prey, Franz Crass, New Philharmonia Orchestra & BBC Chorus, Otto Klemperer

Barbara Schlick, Kai Wessel, Guy de Mey, Klaus Mertens, Amsterdam Baroque Choir, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman

Gerlinde Sämann, Elisabeth Hermans, Patrizia Hardt, Petra Noskaiová, Bernhard Hunziker, Christoph Genz, Marcus Niedermeyr, Jan Van der Crabben, La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken

La Petite Bande, Gustav Leonhardt

Hana Blaziková, Sophie Harmsen, Terry Wey, Eric Stoklossa, Tomas Kral, Marián Krejcik, Collegium Vocale 1704 & Collegium 1704, Václav Luks

Margaret Marshall, Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Samuel Ramey, Academy & Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner

Maria Stader, Sieglinde Wagner, Ernst Haefliger, Theo Adam, Dresden Kreuzchor, Dresden Staatskapelle, Rudolf Mauersberger

Veronika Winter, Johanna Koslowsky, Kai Wessel, Markus Brutscher, Hans-Georg Wimmer, Stephan Schreckenberger, Rheinische Kantorei, Das Kleine Konzert, Hermann Max

Lucy Crowe, Joanne Lunn, Julia Lezhneva, Blandine Staskiewicz, Nathalie Stutzmann, Terry Wey, Colin Balzer, Markus Brutscher, Christian Immler, Luca Tittoto, Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, Marc Minkowski (download)

Maria Keohane, Joanne Lunn, Alex Potter, Peter Harvey, Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen

Sunhae Im (soprano), Marianne Beate Kielland, Ann Hallenberg, Markus Schäfer, Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Dresden Chamber Choir, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Helmut Müller-Brühl

Elly Ameling, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, Werner Krenn, Tom Krause, Wiener Singakademiechor, Stuttgarter Kammerochester, Karl Munchinger

Ruth Ziesak, Joyce DiDonato, Daniel Taylor, Paul Agnew, Dietrich Henschel, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris & Maîtrise Notre Dame de Paris, John Nelson (DVD)

(list continued in post 2)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

(continued)

Paul Esswood, Lars Arvidson, Christina Hogman, Stefan Parkman, Paula Hoffman, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, Adolf Fredrik Bach Choir, Anders Ohrwall (download)

Barbara Bonney, Angelika Kirchschlager, John Mark Ainsley, Alastair Miles, Masuko Kudo Lesser, Tokyo Opera Singers, Saito Kinen Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa

Emma Kirkby, Emily Van Evera, Panito Iconomou, Rogers Covey-Crump, David Thomas, Solisten Des Tölzer Knabenchors, Taverner Consort & Players, Andrew Parrott (BaL Choice 2000 & 2010)

Carolyn Sampson, Anke Vondung, Daniel Johannsen, Tobias Berndt, Freiburger Barockorchester & Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Hans-Christoph Rademann

Antonia Fahberg, Hertha Topper, Gerd Lutze, Franz Kelch, Karl Richter

Janowitz, Töpper, Laubenthal, Prey, Münchener Bach-Chor & Münchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter (DVD)

Stader, Töpper, Haefliger, Engen, Fischer-Dieskau, Münchener Bach-Chor und -Orchester, Karl Richter

Ursula Buckel (soprano), Marga Höffgen (contralto), Ernst Haefliger (tenor), Ernst-Gerold Schramm (bass)
Münchener Bach-Chor, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter

The Bach Ensemble, Rifkin (download)

Juliane Banse, Christiane Oelze, Ingeborg Danz, James Taylor, Matthias Goerne & Thomas Quasthoff, Gachinger Kantorei & Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling

Arleen Auger, Julia Hamari, Peter Schreier, Wolfgang Schöne, Siegmund Nimsgern, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Helmuth RillingPetersen, Stella Doufexis, Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling

Ulrike Sonntag, Marjana Lipov�ek, Howard Crook, Andreas Schmidt, Gächinger Kantorei & Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Helmuth Rilling

Celine Scheen, Pascal Bertin, Makoto Sakurada, Stephan McLeod, Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall (download)

Céline Scheen, Marianne Beate Kielland, Pascal Bertin, Makoto Sakurada, Stephan MacLeod, La Capella Reial de Catalunya & Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall

Alfred Poell, Anton Dermota, Emmy Loose, Gertrud Burgsthaler-Schuster, Hilde Ceska, Wiener Akademie Kammerchor, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Hermann Scherchen (download)

Pierrette Alarie, Nan Merrimann, Léopold Simoneau, Gustav Neidlinger, Wiener Akademie Kammerchor, Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Hermann Scherchen

Arleen Auger, Ann Murray, Marjana Lipovsek, Peter Schreier, Anton Scharinger, Rundfunkchor Leipzig & Staatskapelle Dresden, Peter Schreier

Bethany Seymour, Sally Bruce-Payne, Jason Darnell, Joshua Ellicott, Peter Harvey, Yorkshire Bach Choir & Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, Peter Seymour

Sylvia McNair, Delores Ziegler, Marietta Simpson, John Aler, William Stone, Thomas Paul, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw

Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra, Robert Shaw

Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz, William Shimell, Gwynne Howell, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Georg Solti

Felicity Palmer, Michael Rippon, Robert Tear, Helen Watts, English Chamber Orhestra & Amor Artis Chorale, Johannes Somary

Carolyn Sampson, Rachel Nicholls, Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk, Peter Kooij, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki

Dorethee Mields, Johannette Zomer, Matthew White, Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey, The Netherlands Bach Society, Jos van Veldhoven

Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn, Knabenchor der Robert-Mayer-Schule Heilbronn,, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Fritz Werner


1733 version:-

Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël

[Nick Armstrong]

A Herculean achievement, Alps!!

[Bryn]

The Bach Ensemble, Rifkin remains available as a download (from QOBUZ, for instance).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My first introduction to this work was when I was at school in the late 1960s. Up to that time, I thought fugues were rather boring-but-clever academic exercises. Then my teach played us a recording of the opening Kyrie. What a moment that was! I think it was the Munich Karl Richter recording. Soon afterwards I heard the Klemperer, which was equally satisfying.

However, my first recording was the Munchinger, having already acquired that conductor's St Matthew Passion and Haydn's Creation. I thought I couldn't go wrong with this a superb line-up of soloists, with Decca's superb sound and a conductor I trusted. Sadly, I was disappointed by the wobbliest choir I'd ever heard - the Vienna Singakademie Choir. I hadn't heard of this particular group, but I assumed (wrongly) that it would be of similar quality to the choirs used in Munchinger's other Bach recordings. With the word "academy" in the title, I took it that it would be a choir of mainly young voices. Instead, it sounded like a choir comprising my (then) recently deceased grandmother and her friends. But I wasn't disappointed by the excellent soloists, and for this reason, I later acquired the CD version.
When I acquired Rilling's Hanssler recording I realised just how wanting the Munchinger version was overall.

Being an admirer of JEG's cantata series, I expect my ideal B minor Mass would be one of that conductor's two recordings.

We shall see.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The Bach Ensemble, Rifkin remains available as a download (from QOBUZ, for instance).

Duly added.

[Nick Armstrong]

I think Parrott has 'won' the last time or two this work came up for review.

However, I vividly remember a previous occasion this was covered on BaL - a classic case of preferring a runner-up to the 'winner'. I didn't like the Archiv JEG version, but loved the Leonhardt performance.



It remains my favourite.

Can't see it in the list in ##1&2 though - and indeed it seems to have very limited or no availability - scandalous.

(Edit: there is a £97.75 Japanese SACD import available on amazon... )

[Barbirollians]

I have stuck with the Gardiner and never found the need really to buy another except the VSO/Karajan - as frankly Ferrier sings Qui Sedes and the Agnus Dei more beautifully than anyone else .

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There's a version I wasn't aware of that interests me - Peter Seymour's Yorkshire Bach Choir performance.

I know nepotism is rife in the musical world, but in this case it may be justified. His daughter, Bethany Seymour, is an outstanding singer. I played the oboe in one of her Bach performances, and she's a superb musician. I must investigate this set.

[Stanfordian]

I have a number of accounts on CD. I play the following the most:
Parrott - Virgin Veritas
Richter - Archiv
Richter - Profil
Herreweghe - PHI
And an excellent new release: Dijkstra - BR Klassik

[richardfinegold]

Herreweghe for me. I had a couple of 'big band' versions-Jochum and I forget who else--and the Herreweghe was a revelation

[ardcarp]

A big from me too Alps.

I wonder what the odds are (or the politics?) of choosing Parrott and the Taverner Consort again? I guess Sir Nick will have to decide what sort of ensemble he's after before wading in. Suzuki in with a chance?

[vinteuil]

... I vividly remember a previous occasion this was covered on BaL - a classic case of preferring a runner-up to the 'winner'. I didn't like the Archiv JEG version, but loved the Leonhardt performance.



It remains my favourite.

Can't see it in the list in ##1&2 though - and indeed it seems to have very limited or no availability - scandalous.

(Edit: there is a £97.75 Japanese SACD import available on amazon... )

.

... second hand for some £16 -

http://amzn.eu/gXrqDxV

( ... thanks for the nudge : have just picked up a copy from amazon.de for £6... )

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

If it isn't generally available, I expect it to be picked as the winner.

[MickyD]

I think Parrott has 'won' the last time or two this work came up for review.

However, I vividly remember a previous occasion this was covered on BaL - a classic case of preferring a runner-up to the 'winner'. I didn't like the Archiv JEG version, but loved the Leonhardt performance.



It remains my favourite.

Can't see it in the list in ##1&2 though - and indeed it seems to have very limited or no availability - scandalous.

(Edit: there is a £97.75 Japanese SACD import available on amazon... )

I agree, my favourite version too, although I was never that keen on Jacobs' voice. The first version I ever acquired was the big sound of the Archiv Karl Richter...though my tastes are now wholeheartedly HIPP, I still find that old recording quite thrilling and it opened my ears to baroque choral music.