JS Bach B minor Mass – Victoria Philharmonic Choir
You could call the B minor mass the choral equivalent of extreme sports – and one of the most sublimely beautiful works of art ever produced in western culture.
Weaving ‘stile antico’ (old style) sections among the dancing rhythms of high baroque, tender arias with exhilarating multi-part choruses, and movements he had composed over 25 years, Johann Sebastian Bach completed his final musical and spiritual testament in 1749, not long before his death. As far as we know, it wasn’t performed as an entire work until almost a century later.
Peter Butterfield brings together the 75-voice VPC with soloists Jennifer Turner, Celeste Lingas, Grace Vermette, Felix Butterfield, Jordan Rettich and Alex Chen, along with an orchestra which includes a number of the region’s early music specialist players.
The VPC gratefully acknowledges support from CRD Arts and the NRS Foundation through the Victoria Foundation.