J.S. Bach: Mass in B Minor (Breitkopf & Härtel Edition, edited by J. Rifkin, 2006)

Featuring

Susan Hamilton
Cecilia Osmond
Margot Oitzinger
Thomas Hobbs
Matthew Brook
John Butt

Dunedin Consort
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Compositional Technique

Bach's Mass in B Minor incorporates a wide range of historical styles, from Renaissance-style textures with plainsong cantus firmus to eighteenth-century Italianate concerto style, and even dance-like allusions.

Performer Biography

John Butt, the director of the Dunedin Consort, is a distinguished Bach scholar who has published several books on Bach's music, including a handbook on the Mass in B Minor.

Recording & Production

The harpsichord used in this recording is a 1987 instrument made by Denzil Wraight, modeled after a 1693 Italian harpsichord attributed to Giovanni Battista Giusti.

Composition History

Bach's Mass in B Minor is a compilation of four discrete sections, with the Kyrie and Gloria (Missa) completed in 1733 when Bach was seeking an honorary title from the Elector of Saxony.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach often sought to unite the sacred with the best that the secular world could offer, a concept that resonated with Romantic aesthetics.

Critical Reception

The Mass in B Minor was not available in print until nearly a century after Bach's death, and its first performances in the early 19th century were by amateur choral societies.

Interpretation

This recording uses the 2006 Breitkopf & Härtel edition of the Mass in B Minor, edited by Joshua Rifkin, which removes post-1750 'improvements' and accounts for Bach's revisions.