David Dalle
Thursday October 26th, 2023 with David Dalle
My favourite piece of music. In Ottawa!

Do I have a favourite piece of music? Yes. Do I have favourite performers of this music? Yes. Did I ever imagine I would have a chance to hear them perform it in my lifetime? No. Wonder of wonders, I am wrong! Bach's Mass in b minor will be performed by the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir this Saturday in Ottawa!!!! Conductor John Eliot Gardiner founded the renowned Monteverdi Choir in 1964 and the English Baroque Soloists in 1978 and they have made many recordings and toured the world with the exception of Canada. They have never appeared in Canada until now!!! https://musicandbeyond.ca/tc-events/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor/ Bach's only full mass is a unique work in his repertoire. It was not written with any performance in mind. In fact, there was no chance this work would be performed in Bach's lifetime. A full Latin mass would never be performed in a Lutheran church and, due to the alterations to the liturgical Latin mass, it would not be performed as part of a Catholic liturgy, for example, in neighbouring Dresden, where Bach held the title of Kappelmeister for the Catholic Dresden court. It is the only work of sacred music Bach composed which did not have a practical application in his musical world. However, it consumed the majority of his attention in the final years of his life. The Catholic court of Dresden did provide the initial inspiration. In 1733, the Elector of Saxony died and five months of mourning were declared, with public music-making suspended. The new Elector of Saxony was Catholic, and Bach composed a Missa-brevis in b minor, just the opening Kyrie and Gloria of the full mass, which could also be performed in the Luthern liturgy. He dedicated it to the new Elector with a petition to be granted title of Kappelmeister for the Dresden court (which was successful in 1736). This Missa brevis was the first of five Bach composed, and by far the grandest, nearly an hour in length. More than a decade would pass before Bach would return to this Kyrie-Gloria and decide to compose a full Mass. There exists considerable informed speculation as to why he decided this. The theory I find most convincing is that Bach, near the end of his life, was interested in summing up musical science. Perhaps he chose the full Mass because it had been the pre-eminent sacred choral composition for centuries and it would continue to stand unchanged indefinitely. The completed Mass is an extraordinarily varied work which covers the complete range of choral music of Bach's time, both current and archaic styles. Much of the Mass was original composition, but he did re-use music from other compositions if he found them suitable. The earliest is the Crucifixus, which is based on the opening chorus from his 1714 cantata "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen". Another example is the Sanctus which was originally composed as an independent piece for Christmas in 1724. There are also numerous other examples of music borrowed from various cantatas and reworked in the Mass. It is astonishing that such a varied work built from so many sources could make such a unified, wondrous whole. The Mass in b minor sounds like the culmination of Bach's art, his essence, his most profound statement on the meaning of life. But, with Bach, it does not come across as an individual speaking, like in the great works of Beethoven or Schubert. It sounds like the voice of all humanity. The plaintive five voice fugue of the opening Kyrie, with all the voices entering and slowly rising in sighing motifs, sounds like all of suffering humanity crying out for mercy. You do not need to be Catholic, or Christian, or even religious to be deeply moved by this work. Its joy, its pain, all humanity in the closing fugue crying out "dona nobis pacem/grant us peace" is a sentiment most of us wish for! Bach never heard his Mass in b minor performed, and its first public performance would not come until over a century after his death, in 1859. We live in such a privileged time to be able to hear this work again and again! Do not miss this rare opportunity to hear it performed live by my favourite interpreters!