Bach Messe in h Moll, Bwv 232 (marc Minkowski) [2008]

Albrecht Mayer - Bach - Lieder ohne Wort
FLAC, EAC, LOG & CUE | Lossless Artwork | Size: 324 MB + Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Deutsche Grammophon 476 1020 | Country/Year: Europe 2003
Genre: Classical | Hoster: Filepost/Filefacory

Albrecht Mayer may be principal oboist for the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, but he is also a very active soloist and recitalist not only on the oboe, but also on its relatives, the English horn and the oboe d'amore. Oboists of his caliber are rare, and with his lush tone, smooth control, and engaging expression it's easy to understand why he is a much sought-after musician.

Originally recorded in 1988, this was one of the recordings that made historical performance practice the mainstream when it came to Bach's major choral works. Every moment of the mass was thought through anew, every bit of conventional piety purged. Major B minor mass recordings in the following years have developed one aspect or another further than conductor Philippe Herreweghe does here; Masaaki Suzuki's Bach Collegium Japan chisels out the counterpoint in greater detail, and for grand reverential warmth there's always John Eliot Gardiner. But for a constant sense of wonder that makes even the larger harmonic structure of the mass seem surprising as it unfolds – for a real sense of a group responding not only to a conductor's control but to his artistic vision – this reading by Herreweghe and his Collegium Vocale Ghent remains unexcelled.

Without doubt, the selecction of ones favourite recording within the vast sellection of interpretations of Bach's Mass in B-Minor is a difficult task. I have sung this mass and heard more than ten different recordings of this "miracle of mighty mountain range in the planet of music". For me, Hengelbrocks recording is by far the best one: first of all, Hengelbrocks interpretation is very inspired, with convincing and sometimes innovative tempi, as for instance in the opening Kyrie which, for the first time, I could sense as a funeral march; second, the chorus is brillant, for me even better than the international "stars" as for example the Monteverdi Choir; third, the Soloists wich are members of the choir, integrate perfectly in the whole picture of this master piece; fourth, the balance engineers have done an exceptional work which allows you to hear every detail of the orchestra, soloists and choirs in perfect balance.