Mass in B Minor in the Helsinki Music Center, the 25th of October, 2020

Mass in B Minor is the final great work of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The Helsinki Baroque Orchestra (HeBO) played it now in the Helsinki Music Center with ten soloists. This mass is a said to be the crown jewel of Bach’s compositions, a work that contains everything. And it is truly gorgeous. It consists of six parts (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei).

The conductor, Aapo Häkkinen, was unbelievably energetic and the orchestra sounded absolutely lovely. I especially liked the flute parts. Their brightness was gripping.

But the ten soloists made me once again convinced that the human voice is the most beautiful instrument in the world. They were absolutely superb. It is a pity that when the tickets were sold, in the beginning the seats were sold automatically in the seat number sequence and I was not patient enough to wait long enough and bought a seat on the fifth row. Due to the Covid virus the soloist were spread to all the length of the stage and sitting in the front part of the audience unfortunately affected the experience some. I was able to hear my half of the singers far better than the second half. But I am not complaining too hard, since all the singers were great. However, because of the funny ticket sales policy, I am this time better equipped to judge my half of the singers. They were all good, but, of course, I had a few favourites. Soprano Carolyn Sampson’s high and bright voice sounded angelic and suited this work beautifully. I also loved Sophie Junker’s darker soprano; absolutely lovely! And tenor Andrew Staples was also gorgeous.

The only problem with Mass in B Minor is that it is difficult to say what is the best thing about it. After careful consideration I am going to lift three slices of it above others. The first line of “Kyrie” was divine when all the soloists were singing together: such harmony and beauty! The fifth slice of “Gloria” – “Qui tollis peccata mundi” - was breathtaking. I had literally goosebumps when I was listening to it. The atmosphere was so intense. And finally, the first part of “Agnus Dei” sung by Sophie Harmsen was outstanding. She had been a bit in the shadow of the other singers till then, but her “Agnus Dei” was absolutely magnificent.