Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner

Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner | Johann Sebastian Bach, John Eliot Gardiner, ... | Get It While the Recording is Still Available...

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Bach - Mass in B m...

	Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner Johann Sebastian Bach, John Eliot Gardiner, ... Archiv Produktion, 1990 average customer review:based on 39 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

One of the most frequently mentioned "favorite" works of Bach, the B Minor Mass is not really a functional liturgical work, but an assemblage of movements written over a period of many years. Its grand scale is certainly awesome, but its musical and spiritual unity is more remarkable, considering its origin and the fact that it contains several different compositional styles--not to mention some of Bach's most profound and beautiful music. Performing this work and preserving a sense of its grand design while bringing out the considerable musical details is a challenge that most choirs, orchestras, and conductors are not up to. Almost by consensus, however, John Eliot Gardiner's version is the most successful--and it is indeed a phenomenal recording--at once sumptuous and penetrating, with gorgeous choral and solo singing, and spacious, vibrant sound. --David Vernier

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Gardiner's Masterpiece

This is the greatest recording
Of the greatest work
Of the greatest composer
That ever was.
If I am biased
John and Johann have made me so.

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Easily one of today's available outstanding Bach choral recordings, Gardiner's work should be marked with a "must have" rating for any Bach enthusiast or for anyone interested in the baroque choral genre. As someone once said, there are so many superlatives about the Mass in B-minor that the work sometimes defies rational description. Surely any work often cited as "the greatest work of western music ever written" can never live up to expectations, and thus it would be natural to expect to be in some small way disappointed by the imperfections found in any performance of the piece. Nevertheless, it's difficult to find any place where Gardiner and the English baroque Soloists let us down. The recording itself is superb, the choir, instrumentation, and the soloists perform with aplomb, and Gardiner's direction make it all come together in silky-smooth sound that makes us forget we are listening to period instruments.

This recording is part of a larger set of recordings done in the early 1980's with Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists, including Bach's Magnificat, St. John's Passion, St. Matthew's Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio. There are many recordings of each of these specific pieces ( try doing a search on "the Mass in B-minor" on Amazon and see the number of hits that are pulled up), and there are divergent opinions as to the "best" of these recordings and performances. Often, there are some PEROFRMANCES that are exceptionally well done while the RECORDING itself may not be, and vice-versa. People (and perhaps with good and defendable reason) spend egregious amounts of time debating the specifics of recordings and performances, and it can certainly be difficult (and, unfortunately, hideously EXPENSIVE) to follow these discussions to their logical conclusions and make up your own mind. Although the Gardiner/English Baroque Soloists certainly represent a non-budget-based series of entries, if you will take the time to browse through the reviews, you will likely find that there are few individuals that have much negative to say about any of them. The works represent outstanding achievement in the field of performance, and Deutsche Grammophon's recording expertise clearly shines through in each set. It's difficult to go "wrong" with these recordings, and you may find, like myself, that they become standards by which other performances are judged.

If you are finding the price a bit steep, check to see if any used versions are available. As long as the discs are not scratched, you shouldn't have any trouble with a used copy, and you can build your library further by adding these wonderful works to your collection. The Mass in B-minor is the perfect recording with which to start.

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Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner

Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner is a grand recording with the fine work done by Gardiner. The Monteverdi choir sings with conviction and being a devout person at heart I verily felt moved by the conviction of their singing. The book-let is a mixed bag. Well-written esays and a wonderful cover picture and then you have an atrocious photograph. It looks like it was shot with a polaroid camera by a friend of Gardiner and not done by a professional photographer. Regardless, this is not a recording to missed and I give it 5 stars.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Tracks
Kyrie: Chorus: Lord, Have Mercy On Us. | Kyrie: Duet (Soprano - Mezzo-Soprano): Christ, Have Mercy On Us. | Kyrie: Chorus: Lord, Have Mercy On Us. | Gloria: Chorus: Glory Be To God On High. | Gloria: Chorus: And On Earth Peace To Men Of Good Will. | Gloria: Aria (Soprano): We Praise Thee; We Bless Thee; We Adore Thee; We Glorify Thee. | Gloria: Chorus: We Give Thee Thanks For Thy Great Glory. | Gloria: Duet (Soprano - Tenor): Lord God, Heavenly King, God The Almighty Father. O Lord, The Only-Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Most High Lord God, Lamb Of God, Son Of The Father. | Gloria: Chorus: Thou Who Takest Away The Sins Of The World, Have Mercy Upon Us. Thou Who Takest Away The Sins Of The World, Receive Our Prayer. | Gloria: Aria (Alto): Thou Who Sittest At The Right Hand Of The Father, Have Mercy Upon Us. | Gloria: Aria (Bass): For Thou Alone Art The Holy One. Thou Alone Art The Lord. Thou, Jesus Christ, Alone Art The Most High. | Gloria: Chorus: With The Holy Ghost In The Glory Of God The Father. Amen. | Credo: Chorus: I Believe In One God. | Credo: Chorus: I Believe In One God, The Father Almighty... | Credo: Duet (Soprano - Mezzo-Soprano): All In One Lord Jesus Christ... | Credo: Chorus: And Was Incarnate By The Holy Ghost Of The Virgin Mary And Was Made Man. | Credo: Chorus: And Was Crucified Also For Us Under Pontius Pilate... | Credo: Chorus: And The Third Day He Rose Again According To The Scriptures... | Credo: Aria (Bass): And I Believe In The Holy Ghost... | Credo: Chorus: I Acknowledge One Baptism For The Remission Of Sins. | Credo: Chorus: And I Look For The Ressurection Of The Dead... | Sanctus: Chorus: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Of Hosts... | Sanctus: Chorus: Hosanna In The Highest. | Sanctus: Aria (Tenor): Blessed Be He That Cometh In The Name Of The Lord. | Sanctus: Chorus (da capo): Hosanna In The Highest. | Agnus Dei: Aria (Alto): Lamb Of God... | Agnus Dei: Chorus: Grant Us Peace.

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