Bach, J. S.: Masses Bwv 233, 234, 235, 236

Featuring

Elisabeth Speiser
Helmuth Rilling
Ingeborg Russ
Jakob Stämpfli
John van Kesteren
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart

Gächinger Kantorei
Johann Sebastian Bach

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

One theory suggests Bach created these masses not for immediate performance, but to compile and preserve important parts of his cantatas in a new way, making the music applicable beyond his professional sphere.

Composition History

Bach's four masses were likely intended for liturgical use, unlike his larger Mass in B minor, but their exact purpose and liturgical background remain a mystery.

Composition History

Bach sent these four masses, composed around 1737 or 1738, to the Catholic court of Dresden, even though Protestant services were also held there.

Recording & Production

This recording of Bach's four masses was made in Stuttgart in 1967.

Performer Biography

Helmuth Rilling, the conductor on this album, founded the Gächinger Kantorei in 1954, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in 1965, and the International Bach Academy of Stuttgart in 1981.

Compositional Technique

These masses are sometimes called "Protestant" or "Lutheran masses" because they only consist of a short Kyrie and a long, five-part Gloria, omitting other parts of the Ordinary like Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.

Compositional Technique

Bach compiled these masses by borrowing almost all the music from his existing cantatas, replacing the original German sacred texts with Latin mass texts.