Sunday, June 22nd — I finally heard Bach’s Mass in B Minor live, and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.
I should start by saying I wasn’t emotionally prepared. I knew it was going to be breathtaking — it’s Bach — but I didn’t expect to be sitting there, score open on my iPad, feeling dizzy because the sound was coming from behind me. I had no idea the ensemble would be positioned that way, and trying to follow along while the music surrounded me in reverse stereo was… disorienting at first. But once I settled in, I was locked in. The acoustics were incredible, (I feel that 415 carries better than 440 or 442 and I don’t know why, it just resonates more) — every line rang out with this resonant clarity, and the voices cut through the space in a way that made it feel like the soloists were right beside me. I couldn’t believe how powerful and immediate the vocal projection was in such a huge space.
But what really moved me was the Sanctus.
I was teary-eyed. That movement already holds a strange place in my heart. The first time I ever heard the Sanctus was a few months ago, during the announcement of the new Pope on television. (For the record, I’m not Catholic — I just knew the chances of witnessing a papal election again in my lifetime were slim, especially since the current pope is relatively young. But I’m getting off topic.)
They (the Vatican ensemble) played the Sanctus during that moment — this overwhelming, cosmic-sounding chorus erupting as the new Pope stepped out onto the balcony. Even without context, that music hit something in me. And hearing it again now, live, with that same transcendent force — in a church, no less — was honestly too much. I was holding back tears while pretending to casually scroll through IMSLP so that Lucien or the older lady next to me wouldn’t see.
It was holy in a way that goes beyond religion. It felt like the heavens cracking open for a second. Bach somehow found the sound of awe itself and wrote it down.
That moment alone would’ve been worth the entire concert. But the truth is, the whole Mass was full of moments like that where time slowed, and where music spoke louder than language, where I remembered exactly why I love baroque music and Bach.
