Three other great recordings
Lars Ulrik Mortensen
(conductor)
With his Concerto Copenhagen forces, Lars Ulrik Mortensen embraces the one-to-a-part ethos but buttresses it with a five-voice ‘ripieno’ choir, enlarging the palette to consolidate a beautifully calibrated rapport between instrumentalists and singers. After more dramatic readings, the cool first Kyrie might seem understated, but it launches a powerfully organic view of the work, whose compelling flow rests on the over-arching unity of Mortensen’s tempo relationships. From the melting gravitas of the Et incarnatus to the cumulative grandeur of the Dona nobis pacem, small-isbeautiful Bach proves special indeed in this 2015 recording. (CPO 7778512)
Jonathan Cohen
(conductor)
Although Jonathan Cohen’s Arcangelo forces in this 2014 recording equate more closely to those of Gardiner’s 1985 version, a greater spaciousness and instrumental sensuousness create an almost ‘retro’ plush upholstery – how fruitily the bassoons chortle in the Quoniam tu solus. It’s meant as a compliment. No one better understands how Bach ‘orchestrates’ with voices as well as
instruments and it’s as if Cohen distils 30 years of performing traditions into something slightly outside prevailing orthodoxies yet inclusive and cogently communicative. (Hyperion CDA68051/2)
Philippe Herreweghe
(conductor)
Released in 2012, the third and most recent B minor Mass from Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Ghent is the one to have. There’s a nobility, wisdom and quiet authority to it. Weight and delicacy are held in exquisite equilibrium, and the pacing, led off by a supremely unruffled Kyrie, favours the long view over any shortterm attention seeking. Herreweghe is a conductor noted for his burnished, sometimes soft-grained finish; these latest Bachian reflections glow with spiritual sincerity. (PHI LPH004)
And one to avoid…
There should be no good reason to avoid a solo line-up including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Nicolai Gedda, not to mention playing from the likes of horn player Dennis Brain. But, recorded in Vienna (the choir) and London (the arias), Herbert von Karajan’s 1952/3 account with a somewhat blowsy Vienna Singverein often wallows in a turgid legato haze, the opening Kyrie edging forwards like a sedated tortoise in half-hearted pursuit of a lettuce leaf.