J S Bach - Lutheran Masses I | BIS BIS2081

J S Bach - Lutheran Masses I

£13.25 £9.94

save £3.32 (25%)

special offer ending 01/04/2024

Currently out of stock at the UK suppliers. Available to order, but is likely to take longer than usual to despatch

Label: BIS

Cat No: BIS2081

Format: Hybrid SACD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 1st June 2015

Contents

Artists

Hana Blazikova (soprano)
Joanne Lunn (soprano)
Robin Blaze (countertenor)
Gerd Turk (tenor)
Peter Kooij (bass)
Bach Collegium Japan

Conductor

Masaaki Suzuki

Works

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Christe eleison in G minor, BWV242
Mass in G major, BWV236
Mass in G minor, BWV235
Missa in C minor, BWVAnh26
» Kyrie in C minor
Sanctus in C major, BWV237
Sanctus in D major, BWV238
Sanctus in D major, BWV241 (version in E major - Kerll, arr. JS Bach)
Sanctus in G major, BWV240

Artists

Hana Blazikova (soprano)
Joanne Lunn (soprano)
Robin Blaze (countertenor)
Gerd Turk (tenor)
Peter Kooij (bass)
Bach Collegium Japan

Conductor

Masaaki Suzuki

About

By J S Bach's time, the Reformation had fundamentally altered the traditional forms of church service, and in German churches Latin had yielded to the country's own language. To a limited extent, however, the Latin mass text did remain in use in the Protestant church – in particular the Kyrie and Gloria sections, which were often set to music as an entity in their own right. Albeit incomplete, this form of mass setting was termed ‘Missa’, a name it retained even in Bach’s day.

Nowadays, to differentiate them from complete settings, these pieces are often referred to as 'Lutheran Masses'. Bach's famous Mass in B minor, later expanded into a complete mass, began its existence as a work of this type, and four other examples from Bach's pen have survived. They all make extensive use of earlier compositions, and the two masses on the present disc consist entirely of so-called parodies: reworkings of arias and choruses from cantatas, in which Bach demonstrates his skill in adapting existing music for new uses.

Performed by Bach Collegium Japan – who under the direction of Masaaki Suzuki have already recorded the original settings as part of their acclaimed cantata series – the Missae BWV 235 and 236 are here combined with four separate settings of the Sanctus, another section of the traditional mass that in Bach's time could be heard in the churches of Leipzig during important feast days.

Two of these are original compositions, whereas BWV241, and possibly also BWV240, is an arrangement of a setting by another composer. The 'Kyrie – Christe' BWV Anh. 26 is also an example of how Bach, in his task of providing the music for church services, used music by other composers. In this case he turned to a movement from a mass by his contemporary Francesco Durante from Naples, but adapted it for his own purposes by composing a new setting – a duet for soprano and alto – of the Christe eleison section, labelling it 'Christe di Bach' in his autograph.

Error on this page? Let us know here

Need more information on this product? Click here