Reference Recordings: Bach's B-Minor Mass

1. Soloists, Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra, Karl Richter (cond.) Archiv (1962)
2. Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (cond.) Archiv

[jegog.]

I think of Richter as the father of HIP. He didn't use original instruments, but his approach and feeling for the music was lighter than the romantic approach of most conductors before him, and anticipated what was about to happen. I think he inspired musicians to think about Bach in a different way, and that led to more harpsichord, smaller forces and faster tempos. You can hear that lightness, humor and feeling in his continuo improvisations in his cantata recordings. If he had the singers and musicians around today who have mastered the historical instruments and performance practices, I suspect those performances would fit right in.

[sleepjar]

I’ve owned and loved the Gardiner since its initial release and guessed correctly here. Thank for doing what you do Dave!

[michaelmyers]

I love this series. I have distinct memories of this piece. I heard it with if memory serves me correctly, Shaw and a pick up orchestral like RCA, but William Vacchiano of the New York Philharmonic played first trumpet. I heard it in our public library back when they had photographs and record collections. This performance has great personal and historic interest to me. Then, I heard Richter do it at Princeton with a few imported people like Edward Tarr as for trumpet. But they brought the rest of their people, including their amazing first horn, whose name escapes me, because I am older than you. The performance was stunning. In the reference recording those brilliant trumpets were led by Adolf Scherbaum who at that time was just it for high trumpet. Maurice Andre was just beginning to emerge. So the Princeton performance must’ve been around the early 70s. I also heard Richter perform on the organ live in Copenhagen, Denmark. His conducting was better. Then I heard a very scaled Down version with the original instrument name of the minute guy, whose name again escapes me. at Carnegie Hall in the 70s. It was fine but I was sitting in the second row. It was only an interesting experiment. Then I played it with the Princeton collegium music him in New Brunswick not on period instruments, but informed by Baroque performance practice. Westminster choir College for the chorus I believe. Everyone knew it and we only had one or two rehearsals to put it together but it was fine. Playing all the notes with commitment and the peace has a tremendous emotional impact live even for the performers. So I put this up just as a matter of history, and I have heard a lot of recorded performances, but my experience.spans the the progressive adoption of baroque performance practices anthe emergence of original instruments both geeky and good.If I have blathered to much delete with impunity.

[JamesTailor]

These two may be the references, but they're my absolute personal favorites as well! Richter and Gardiner convince me each time that I'm listening to the most beautiful music of all time. Also really like Klemperer (unlike his St. Matthew!), Brüggen and Herreweghe.

[alyzaabal]

I appreciate that you're able to set aside your personal preference in these discussions. Your expansive knowledge, sense of humor and grounded humility are reasons I constantly come back here.

[abrahampayne]

I got to be honest no one on this planet could perform the first kyrie of the b minor mass like klemperer. I know we should look at a recording at it's entirety when we want to judge it but god damn that first kyrie performed by klemperer is a separate mass on it's own

[hoifcheu]

You are a great critic because you give reasons and evidence that exceed your preferences.

[jensguldalrasmussen]

Interestingly Karl Richter himself considered Klemperer's B-minor Mass a reference... Karl Richter in a conversation with the Danish-German music critic Hans Georg Lenz suddenly asked, what he thought about his recording of this work that had just been released. Lenz, who found himself in a bit of a pickle because of the question, squirmed in his seat and mumbled a few non-commital platitudes, Richter just gazed at Lenz, and asked with a slightly frosty tone in his voice: "What is it, you don't like about it?". Lenz took courage and refered to the sostenuto in the opening of Klemperer's performance. "Yes!" Richter enthusiastcally exclaimed, "that sostenuto-pull! How in the world does he do it?!".
Richter, who was famously rather sensitive to critic from others, then admitted, that he, himself, wasn't content with his own result in respect to this. And he then went on to praise other aspects of what he felicitously heard realized in Klemperer's recording.

[JackBurttrumpetstuff]

Excellent choices. I like having the old and new exemplars…

[AntPDC]

That so many guessed correctly is testament to Sir John Eliot Gardiner's huge talent - personality flaws aside. We all have them. Heck General Patton, for example, was another hard taskmaster. People like these aren't looking to be loved.

[waynesmith]

Like both reference recordings, prefer others; I have heard the B minor mass live with both large and small forces and agree that, when it comes to the B minor less is less.

[Michael-ntrp]

Klemperer is the one for me. Listen to the Crucifixus, where the oboe comes in slowly like tear drops, and then the chorus comes in in hushed and reverent tones, then a sense of awe with the female chorus soaring above in the background. Other conductors fail to make the oboe meaningful and fail to create an atmosphere of sadness and reverence, mostly because they don’t understand it at all. Klemperer here really stands tall above the other conductors. The complaints about his slow tempos are completely misplaced. Slow tempo is absolutely necessary in order to make the oboe sound like tear drops, and to create the sad and reverent atmosphere. The Agnus Dei is simply pure and sincere and deeply felt. The Gloria in Excelsisz and Resurrexit are full throated and weighty and awesome. Just a few examples to make the point. The overall performance is a powerful, weighty, and sensitive tribute to the glory of faith.

[TOONACEDRELA]

Grew up with the Richter and still love it but as Dave says "Bach is bigger than anybody"...never a truer word said. If you want to go to the other end of the scale, the "teeny, tiny" HIP version, I would suggest John Butt and the Dunedin Consort...beautifully performed and recorded...crystal clear with intimate, chamber detail such as you would hear in a small county church. In between is the excellent Veldhoven/Netherlands Bach Society.

[fredcasden]

Back when we were in college, Karl Richter came to town and played four concerts at Carnegie Hall (If I remember correctly; it's a long time back to 1960 or so) of this piece, both Passions, and the Christmas Oratorio. I can still remember. Of course, I bought the recordings, at least of this piece and the St. Matthew.

[neilford]

The Gardiner was my introduction to the B minor mass during my first (and only) year at Durham Uni. I played it so many times, had it virtually memorised and the poor LPs are shredded. I am not a great fan of the rest of Gardiner's output. His remake seems almost identical to me except with some even quicker tempi. My personal fave of the moment is with Jonathan Cohen and Archangelo.

[HassoBenSoba]

I recently put on the Gloria of Gardiner's version right after listening to Robert Shaw's wonderful 1960 recording, and immediately said to myself: "It's mechanical...almost soulless" (or, as you put it "steely and cool")....certainly compared to the joyous, "humane" reading by Shaw. But I wouldn't want to be without the Gardiner, since it is such a marvelous, almost revelatory performance, for all the reasons you cite. I only hope he didn't have to slap around his artists too much to get such great results. LR

[davidaiken]

No question about it. These are the reference recordings. I'm of the generation that "grew up with" the first Richter recording. It thrilled me then, and it thrills me now. I'm also of the generation that waited patiently for the "period instrument" version that would approximate, or even match, Richter's achievement. And so when Gardiner's recording came out it was something like an apocalyptic moment. The Dawn of a New Day when the Historically Informed approach would finally come into its own. That assurance was only confirmed by Gardiner's subsequent ventures into the "big" Bach sacred works and Hanel Oratorios. For me, the luster of Gardiner has faded, in light of a host of better HIP versions, while that of the Richter remains undimmed. I agree that Jochum/EMI is one of the few that approaches Richter's achievement. I'd also like to call any reader's attention to a recording that almost matches those two achievements--namely Robert Shaw''s RCA recording of the vintage as Richter's. The choral discipline and solo singing for Shaw are as impressive as Richter's, and Shaw goes further toward anticipating later HIP developments.

[panneddead-centre]

In the course of any classical collector's career, there comes at least one work that we obsess over, buying every single rendition we can get our hands on, and eventually petering out because we bought them all and rarely listen to the vast majority of them, and in time we even stop paying attention the new releases. The B minor Mass was mine. In terms of how many there are, no, not quite 'hundreds of them.' A truly obsessive collector will find it hard to get much past 100. At least that's where I got (probably around 110, I haven't counted in some years), though there are some old ones that I'm aware of that I've never gotten my hands on.

I agree on the Richter, and, unlike you, I would cite it as my favourite overall, though there are some close contenders. (Maazel's is underrated, as are Marriner and Shaw's 1960 RCA.) While not period instruments, Richter really was proto-HIP, scaling back the forces and allowing for faster tempi. Incidentally, he left us with four recordings of the work (one on video).

One of the unfortunate findings of the period instrument group is a comment by Bach's son (CPE, I think) that Bach preferred faster tempi, which triggered a 'Hey, we need to take everything faster!' reaction, and the opening movement quickly stablised as 'nine minutes and some seconds' in nearly every recording. Some recordings from before this exceeded 20 minutes. That may be a bit extreme, but I prefer it slower.

I'm not a huge fan of Gardener's, but as a reference recording, as opposed to a best, I can see it, and it was the one I predicted you would say. If I picked a favourite period instrument, it would be Herreweghe's. His (there are three now) are not the most exciting to be sure, but he succeeds in making the work sound liturgical, which has some legitimacy as an interpretive choice.

Otherwise, for period instruments, Erickson and Jacobs are underrated.

[davidhowe]

When my school music teacher retired (Mr Merlyn Smith, c. 1967; sorry I never really thanked you for introducing me to classical music) we gave him a record voucher; he said he'd use it to buy this work; which I'd never even heard of, and still don't know - something I now intend to correct.

[jonbaum]

The whole "one to a part" thing is an entirely bogus concept. First of all, on the first page of the score there's a list of the forces required, and it says "soloists and choir". Also, whereas the arias are accompanied by one instrument (violin, flute or oboe) and continuo, the choruses are accompanied by the whole orchestra and it really doesn't make sense to have just 4 or 5 people singing.