ABOUT THE RECORDING
The name of few baroque composers can be associated with such a long and venerable tradition as the name of J. S. Bach, and few works in music history have been as affected by this kind of tradition to a degree such as is the case with the Mass in B Minor. For today’s performers, this situation is a great inspiration on the one hand, but on the other hand we are faced with ingrained ideas about the work that have been shaped by the aesthetics of the 19th century and by the impassioned discourse about the interpretation of Bach’s works during the twentieth century. In the case of the Mass in B Minor, what is involved is not the discovery of some sort of universal, historically-based interpretive truth, but rather the courage to examine one of the greatest works of music history without being intimidated by its monumentality, and with eagerness to discover its lovely colours in their natural beauty as revealed when the layers of performance tradition are removed.
Accent, 2013
