Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra - Bach's Mass in B Minor December 2, 2011

Bach's Great Masterpiece

Bach assembled the components of this monumental work in 1749, just before his death in 1750, and never heard it performed in its entirety. Since its first performance, the Mass in B minor has been recognized as one of the pre-eminent works of the late Baroque, and indeed all of Classical music - "a synthesis of every stylistic and technical contribution the Cantor of Leipzig made to music" according to modern Italian musicologist Alberto Basso.

The stellar cast features: countertenor Daniel Taylor ("a pure, sweet and surprisingly sopranoish voice of ethereal beauty" - Classic FM); the "amazing" (Vancouver Sun) baritone Nathaniel Watson; tenor Thomas Cooley ("cool, fleet-footed contributions" - San Francisco Chronicle); the Philharmonia Baroque debut of "radiant voiced soprano" (Washington Post) Sherezade Panthaki; and the "glorious" (San Francisco Chronicle) Philharmonia Chorale, directed by Bruce Lamott.

BACH: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232

Official Website: http://www.philharmonia.org