Wow, what a way to end the festival! This was my first time seeing Bach\u2019s Mass in B minor live and in full. It is truly a work of enormous scale and impact. The performance was amazing as well, though I could nitpick it a little. In fact let me start with a couple complaints so that I can end with the moments that left me truly speechless.<\/p>\n
First of all, while all the soloists were clearly world class, I wasn\u2019t in love all of their sounds. The countertenor sang beautifully but for me his tone for me was a bit thin (hollow?). The Agnus Dei<\/i> is such a heartwrenchingly mournful movement for me and considering that it leads into the Dona nobis pacem<\/i> it\u2019s a big moment that I didn\u2019t really think delivered. I also wasn\u2019t super convinced by the Christe eleison<\/i> which I also felt lacked some richness in the solo voices.<\/p>\n
I thought that this interpretation excelled more at the moments of exuberance, triumph, and grandiosity rather than the moments of contemplation and lamentation. For example, I really enjoyed in the Gloria in excelsis Deo<\/i> and the Et resurrexit<\/i> how the trumpets were and timpani\u2019s were able to fill the huge acoustic of the church. I would say that for me the highlights were the Gratias agimus tibi<\/i> and Dona nobis pacem<\/i>. When the trumpets came in the first time in the Gratias agimus tibi, <\/i>it was unlike any sound I had ever heard. For the Dona nobis pacem<\/i>, I knew what to expect so I just closed my eyes and allowed myself to be transported. I forgot everything for the next three minutes. When I opened my eyes, for a moment, I had no idea where I was or what was going on, until slowly, I returned to reality. For me, no other music has that power. I think this is why Bach\u2019s music matters to me and honestly it\u2019s because of moments like these that I bother playing music at all at the end of the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wow, what a way to end the festival! This was my first time seeing Bach\u2019s Mass in B minor live and in full. It is truly a work of enormous scale and impact. The performance was amazing as well, though I could nitpick it a little. In fact let me start with a couple complaints<\/p>\n