Bach B Minor Mass: grand moments combine with chamber music intimacy
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In the second Kyrie the Chamber Singers articulated its main theme with carefully separated notes to lighten the texture.
The fugue on Gratias agimus tibi, sung by both choirs, started with quiet warmth building like a great cathedral arch to the final entries with trumpets and timpani, the same music returning at more measured pace in the closing Donna Nobis Pacem to create a close of great moment.
Weymark’s tempos were often quick, occasionally presenting a challenge for the full choir (as in the breathless In Sancto Sprititu at the close of the Gloria).
Rather than allocate arias and duets to members of the choir, as Bach probably would have done had he performed the piece (though there is no record he did), a strong group of vocal soloists partnered with instrumentalists from the orchestra led by Fiona Ziegler to create those moments of chamber-music intimacy that were key to Bach’s universe of musical possibilities.
Soprano Janet Todd and mezzo Sally-Anne Russell sang the Christe at a lively tempo with expressive colour and neat precision, while bass David Greco brought smooth clarity to Quoniam tu Solus Sanctus. Particularly memorable were Sally Walker’s ornately expressive flute solo in the Benedictus with mellifluous line from tenor Andrew Goodwin, and Sally-Anne Russell’s warm focused sound in the Agnus Dei.
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