Despite my jetlag I
had firmly decided to go and listen to Cantores Minores’s performance of Mass
in B minor by Johann Sebastian Bach in the Helsinki Cathedral. This mass is not
performed every year in Helsinki, so I absolutely wanted to hear it. Exhaustion
may have dulled the effect a bit, but the music is so beautiful that I had no
difficulties staying awake – especially since the length of the performance was
instead of the earlier informed two and a half hours only two hours and ten
minutes.
Cantores Minores choir
with their conductor Hannu Norjanen did well with the work. Bach’s music rang
superbly and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra also played well. The mass has
several places – mostly arias – where instead of the whole orchestra only a few
instruments accompany the singers, which brought lovely lightness and intimacy
to the work. The choir still had plenty of chances to rev its vocal cords.
Mass in B minor
consists mainly of parts from earlier composed works and only a few pieces are
composed especially for this mass. Despite that, the entity is surprisingly
whole and truly versatile. My favourite of all parts was Symbolum Nicenum
(Credo), that is Nicene Creed. Its parts were extremely beautiful and multifaceted.
The absolutely best of
the soloists was Monica Groop. Partly it was perhaps because the alto arias are
highlights of the work, but her voice was also in an absolutely gorgeous form.
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti