All recordingsPrices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV2321733 version
Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon The Ensemble Pygmalion continues its interpretative work on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, proposing the Mass in B minor, BWV 232 in its version of 1733. Pygmalion's first recording for Alpha, with Bach's Missae Breves BWV 234 and 235 (ALPHA 130) was received very enthusiastically by the critics and awarded, in particular, the Diapason d'Or of the Year 2008 and the Orphée d'Or 2008 by the Académie du Disque Lyrique. Given the work's historical importance, this third recording by the ensemble is also the occasion for Raphaël Pichon to show the extent of his maturity, placing him in the front rank of today's young conductors. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
"If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. Philippe Herreweghe’s longlasting interest in the works of the Cantor of Leipzig has turned him into a man whose views evolve as he delves deeper into his subject matter. The joy that he feels – combined with a very legitimate sense of pride – in having forged musical tools that have today reached maturity, has led him to come back on a Missa that has never ceased to intrigue him: the catholic Missa of the protestant composer Bach. Last spring, theJesus-Christus Kirche in Berlin came alive with the splendid sounds of Bach’s score as preceding recordings of the Missa no longer met the radiant vision that the Flemish maestro had of it. Together with a handful of excellent soloists – included in the choir – and a Collegium vocally and instrumentally at its best, Philippe Herreweghe delivers a work that must be savoured like a sweet or a last supper where rigor and hedonism, inner depth and outer seduction tenderly offer themselves to the listener. “Herreweghe's account proves outstanding. The Collegium Vocale Gent, from which the soloists are drawn, is numerous enough [to] create warm lines, contrasting with the crisper tone of the instruments - I've never heard Bach's counterpoint more transparent. The balance between blend and individuality is superb, their empathy palpable...Its very moderation makes this a wonderful recording - highly recommended.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 ***** “This is Philippe Herreweghe's third commercial recordings of the Mass in B minor in 23 years and, unlike many conductors who serially return to cornerstone pieces, his finest to date...Herreweghe is a master of when to fill the sails and when to trim them...Atmosphere is ultimately what places Herreweghe's new reading in the higher echelons...This account is one of the most consistent in recent years.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2012 “given that this is a B minor Mass which exudes buoyancy, freshness and vitality, what are the drawback? The simple answer is: very few. Perhaps at times both the orchestral support and the vocal weight is a shade too light for some of the more weighty moments...As for the highlights, these are too numerous to list...This certainly stands as Herreweghe's most arresting reading of the work so far.” International Record Review, September 2012 “the clarity of the singing is really delightful; one is reminded, not for the only time in this performance, how much Bach’s music is founded in the dance...Whatever your standpoint, unless you are allergic to period-style performance of Bach then I would urge you to hear this marvellous new recording.” MusicWeb International, August 2012 | | PHI - LPH004 (CD - 2 discs) Normally: $26.50 Special: $20.40 |
| | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
“The efforts of all concerned, under Klemperer’s inspiring direction, have provided in this towering masterpiece a spiritual experience thousands can now enjoy and profit from. It is a glorious achievement.” Gramophone Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
“Gardiner brings a concept of the work which not only explores its ineffable mysteries but also savours the magnificence of its architecture. With members of the chorus doubling as soloists, and all singing splendidly, this is in every way enjoyable... A clear first choice among available versions”. (Gramophone, 1986) | | | (Sorry, download not available in your country) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
“I hereby promote Cantus Cölln’s new B minor Mass, 2 CDs at mid-price from Harmonia Mundi, to my top choice for this work, even in stereo.” Nick Morgan, CD Review | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach: Mass in B minor
For long out of the catalogue, Marriner’s (Philips) recording of Bach’s B Minor Mass, with an array of splendid soloists, returns to circulation. Its coupling is the first release on CD of this recording of the deeply moving Cantata BWV 56 ‘Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen’. It was one of two (extant) Bach cantatas for bass voice alone (the other being BWV 82 ‘Ich habe genug’: Shirley-Quirk’s recording with Marriner appears on Decca Eloquence 476 2684). The two items were recorded thirteen years apart, the Cantata in April 1964 and the Mass in June-July 1977. The partnership of Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is possibly the most recorded of all partnerships in recorded classical music. This pioneering 2CD set is issued in celebration of the Academy’s 50th anniversary this year and these recordings form part of a series of Marriner reissues on Eloquence. Marriner’s glorious recording of Bach’s Mass in B minor returns to the catalogue – at budget price for the first time. The Cantata BWV 56 receives its first release on CD. Forms part of a series of recordings with Marriner and the Academy. “This disc is, I would say, the one to have; and, more than any of his previous recordings, it makes apparent beyond doubt John Shirley-Quirk’s high standing as an artist” Gramophone Magazine (Cantata) “I found the solo singing rewarding and in particular Dame Janet Baker’s account of the Agnus Dei very moving … the sound is rich with plenty of bloom ... Cum Sancto Spiritu is a real choral tour de force” Gramophone Magazine (Mass) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
Sophie Bevan (soprano), Clint van der Linde (countertenor), Ben Johnson (tenor) & Hakan Vramsmo, Colin Campbell (baritones) Rodolfus Choir & Southern Sinfonia, Ralph Allwood “The B minor" – that phrase alone resonates with gravity in the hearts and minds of those who love as no other the music of J.S. Bach. This disc sees the Rodolfus Choir at their best, as renowned Bach interpreters, having sung his works across the UK to great acclaim. Following a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and performance at Holy Trinity Guildford at the end of 2009, this disc, recorded in the chapel of Charterhouse School, continues their ever-growing catalogue of extraordinary recordings and follows their acclaimed recording of music by Herbert Howells, released earlier this year (SIGCD190) “they achieve remarkable facility in passagework: I've never heard nine basses in such perfect accord in the tortuous 'Et iterum venturus est'...The soloists are a fine team. In 'Domine Deus', Sophie Bevan and Ben Johnson match perfectly in imitation...The basses are cleverly typecast...Highly recommended.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** “the overriding feeling of this recording is its lively pace and its refusal to hang around...The opening of the Credo finds the choristers presenting beautifully moulded choral lines with such an astonishing legato that they positively glide by. Allwood is also blessed with an outstanding team of soloists...Throughout the Southern Sinfonia lend distinction to the performance.” International Record Review, March 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232Breitkopf Edition, edited by J. Rifkin
“The ensemble is nigh perfect… the freshness with which they sing radiates joy throughout the entire score." Classic FM Magazine "The Dunedin Consort's exemplary singers produce virtuoso choruses that are theatrically charged, splendidly poised and exquisitely blended.” Gramophone The Dunedin Consort’s recording of Bach’s Mass in B Minor revisits the spectacular individual virtuosity that made the Messiah recording so successful. This is the premiere recording of the work in the new Breitkopf edition, edited by Joshua Rifkin, a leading thinker in authentic period performance, who fully endorses John Butt’s interpretation. Bach’s Mass capitalizes on the very essence of the group’s skills: skilled virtuosic choral performance coupled with outstanding, characterful solo singing. Bach’s Mass in B Minor is undoubtedly his most spectacular choral work and the Dunedin Consort’s single-voice performance enables a level of clarity and expression that is not traditionally a feature of modern choral performance. This recording features several soloists from the acclaimed recording of Bach’s Matthew Passion, which was named the BBC Music Magazine’s Benchmark. “[The] constantly changing texture makes us listen afresh to the beauty of Bach's astonishing vocal writing. It's a joy to hear the principal singers...working together as a chorus, moving like a precision machine, each line clear and uncluttered under John Butt's meticulous direction. A definitive recording.” The Observer, 23rd May 2010 “Butt opts for 10 solo voices, his liner notes justifying when lines should be sung by two voices and when by just the one...His performance is powerful and beautifully shaped” Sunday Times, 20th June 2010 *** “The Dunedin Consort's premiere recording of Joshua Rifkin's scholarly edition of Bach's B-minor Mass has many attractive features: the emphatic "k" that launches the first Kyrie (the orchestra sounding on the vowel), closely dovetailed counterpoint...and a calm but purposeful sense of narrative.” The Independent, 13th June 2010 “Surely no other recording of Bach’s B Minor Mass bounces along with such joy as this...Lots of clarity, too, partly thanks to the slimmed-down forces, featuring only ten voices ...no clouds cover the instrumental finesse in an interpretation that eschews weighty grandeur for light and smiling exultation.” The Times, 12th June 2010 **** “...the Dunedin Consort and Players are never perfunctory or merely dogmatic...Butt's insightful direction and scholarship, integrated with the Dundin's extremely accomplished instrumental playing and consort singing, amount to an enthralling and revelatory collective interpretation” Gramophone Magazine, August 2010 “Butt's players generate a lively sense of forward motion...No performance could better justify small-scale Bach than this convincing marriage of scholarship and inspiration.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 ***** “It's a performance full of air and lightness; the instrumental textures have a springing, dancing vitality, the voices are perfectly focused, and agile...overall this is a fascinating and hugely rewarding account of one of the imperishable masterpieces of the western musical tradition.” The Guardian, 22nd July 2010 **** “Butt’s direction is generally sound, sometimes inspired. The initial Kyrie deftly combines a measured, serious tread with vital buoyancy and momentum; the lively Cum Sancto Spiritu has terrific flair...The chief benefits of the one-to-a-part choir are agility and clarity, particularly welcome in the fiendishly complex fugues.” Graham Rogers, bbc.co.uk, 26th May 2010 | | | (also available to download from $21.75) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232Recorded live Warsaw (Lutoslawski Radio Studio), March 2009
20 years after the Orchestra of the 18th Century’s first engagement on tour with Bach’s Mass in B minor, a work which has for so long captivated the inquiring mind and interpretative insight of Frans Brüggen, a new tour was conceived through which to provide a fresh view of the piece. Setting down a recorded view during tours has always been key to this orchestra’s musical expression and last year the opportunity was taken at an exciting concert in the Polish capital of Warsaw: a city and a country with whom director and orchestra have long and treasured memories. Accompanying the CD set is a booklet essay from David Vickers which provides a scholarly and eminently-readable account of the social as well as the musical background to the composition of the individual parts of a piece whose unity has provided the world with one of its greatest works of musical art. This new recording is more than a 20th anniversary celebration, reflecting as it does Frans Brüggen’s lifelong desire to understand and project the work of J.S. Bach. “Please don’t even consider hesitating, not even for an iota of a scintilla of a fraction of a millisecond, to question the financial wisdom of acquiring another recording of the B minor Mass. Just go and buy this one.” Early Music Today, June/August 2010 ***** “The 'Gloria' dances, 'Cum Sancto Spiritu' is equally lithe and the semiquavers in 'Et resurrexit' are fluent and exact...The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is superb: its many virtues include precise articulation from the strings and some knockout trumpet playing.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2010 “The performance...carried me away from the first — the sweet sound of the baroque oboes, the strength and eloquence of the choir...There is nothing minimalist about Brüggen’s approach. The work is paced with a convincing naturalness; the trumpets are exhilarating and the soloists are all excellent.” Sunday Times, 6th June 2010 “Soprano soloists Dorothee Mields and Johannette Zomer deliver exquisitely detailed duets, while the orchestral performance is beyond reproach, most particularly the cellos and basses. From the first Credo onwards, the choral performance is revitalised, with a sparkling reading of the Et resurrexit and a glorious Sanctus.” The Independent, 9th May 2010 | | | (also available to download from $21.75) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
Last year, the esteemed conductor Marc Minkowski joined Naïve for a long-term collaboration during which period he will be recording the music of Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, among others. The first in this series of recordings featured the works of Georges Bizet performed on instruments of the period. It was a major international success, and was picked as an Editor’s Choice in the Gramophone and a Music Choice in the BBC Music Magazine. Early in 1733 Augustus II, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, died. Five months of mourning followed, during which all public music-making was temporarily suspended. Bach used the opportunity to work on the composition of a Missa, a portion of the liturgy sung in Latin and common to both the Lutheran and Roman Catholic rites. His aim was to dedicate the work to the new sovereign Augustus III, a Catholic, and by doing so to hope to improve his own standing. The Missa was first performed in 1733 during the festival of the Oath of Allegiance to Augustus III. It consisted of settings of the Kyrie and Gloria that now comprise the first part of the Mass in B Minor. At what point Bach decided to expand the Missa into a full-blown setting of the Catholic Mass is not known. Some researchers believe that the Symbolum Nicenum (or the Credo) was composed between 1742 and 1745, but others think it predates the Missa and was first heard in 1732. The remaining parts (Sanctus, Osanna, Benedictus and Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem) were all added in the late 1740s. The Mass in B Minor did not assume its final form until Bach's last years, perhaps by 1748. It may be that Bach wished the Mass in B Minor to be regarded as a monument of his skill, for it is a work based much upon his earlier music, which he adapted and refined to meet a sacred purpose. “The adrenalin and excitement is real, and there’s lovely colouring from brass and wind.” The Times, 20th June 2009 **** “Using forces identical in number to those in The Gabrieli Consort's St Matthew Passion, Minkowski delivers an elegant reading with as many reflective largos as lickety-spit allegros.” The Independent on Sunday, 14th June 2009 “The most outstanding aspects of this performance involve the linear focus and Minkowski's musical instinct to draw out the imagery with discrimination… The large-scale movements with trumpets and drums are wonderfully exuberant exclamations, especially the "Gloria" and "Et expect", roulades of joy which never tire.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2009 “Marc Minkowski chose his 10 international soloists - who combine to sing the choral sections - with infinite care. Their balance is superb, aided by his sensitive direction of the sublime Musiciens du Louvre who never overwhelm the vocal lines. Among many glorious moments the "Et Incarnatus est" and "Crucifixus" stand out as particular peaks of perfection” The Observer, 14th June 2009 “Minkowski’s Bach is less mannered than his Handel, but there is drama and brilliance in the singing and playing he encourages from his period-style forces. Highly collectable.” Sunday Times, 5th July 2009 **** “...the shifting permutations of colours constantly take you by surprise. The end result is as much a celebration of the joy of music-making as a hymn to the glory of God. Wonderful and highly recommended.” The Guardian, 17th July 2009 ***** “Minkowski comments that 'Bach turns everything into an orchestra'; his mind is 'symphonic'. As a result, the singers are required to match the instrumental virtuosity of players, as they do with breathtaking effect in 'Et resurrexit', 'Et expecto'. Recording quality, in a warmly reverberant churn in Santiago de Compostela, matches the performance, making this the best of the minimalist B minor Mass recordings.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2009 **** | | | (also available to download from $21.75) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |
|
Gramophone Awards 2012
Gramophone Magazine