Mass in B Minor

J.S. Bach (Artist), Fassbaender (Artist), Donath (Artist), Jochum (Artist), Brso (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000002SCY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #472,745 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For Bach lovers who never have gotten comfortable with the sound of period instruments--or youngsters who want to check out how Bach was performed before the likes of Harnoncourt and Hogwood changed everything --this is as good a "conventional" 20th-century-style B-Minor Mass as you will find. Eugen Jochum packs the performance with dramatic gestures and grandeur: his mighty opening "Kyrie" hits you right in the gut; very slow tempos give the "Et incarnatus" and "Crucifixus" an imposing solemnity; the sudden hush at the start of "Et exspecto" and huge four-beat crescendo moments later are remarkable. The orchestra plays gracefully and with particularly good balance for a symphony orchestra doing Bach; the choir's blend and clarity are not ideal, but their sound is powerful and Jochum makes sure that the important lines are heard. Soprano Helen Donath sings blandly, with a vibrato so quick and wide she can only approximate pitch, but the male soloists, especially tenor Claes H. Ahnsjö, sound quite comfortable with Bach's writing. Mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender's voice seems more suited to Mahler, but she proves herself yet again a great artist. Any performance-practice purists who have strayed here accidentally should flee immediately to Herreweghe (if not Rifkin), but those who love the grand, old German tradition of Bach performance should be very pleased with this one. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jochum reaches the sky once more, April 18, 2000

By 

Miguel Ferro (Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mass in B Minor (Audio CD)

Jochum is the best "spiritual" conductor i know. This Bach's Mass is no exception: the fluid and ethereal sonority of the music as well as the strenght of the choir makes this Mass version one of the best.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this performance, January 30, 2001

By 

Gregory M. Zinkl (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mass in B Minor (Audio CD)

I could blather on like I usually do about the glorious playing of the Dresden forces and Jochum's terrific, inspired performance. But I won't! I love this recording, warts and all. The overall emotional thrust is terrific, and even if the tempi are slower than the period crowd would vote for, they are never lugubriously heavy. An enjoyable performance that my partner and I have enjoyed many times.

And it's a bargain!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solemn performance, September 26, 2005

By 

Musicus (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mass in B Minor (Audio CD)

To me, the most important is and remain the spirit of the interpretation, so usually I can easily forgive some technical flaws in performance and recording/mixing, provided the spirit of the music appeals to my imagination. Still I find this Jochum-recording slightly disappointing. Perhaps the reason is that I am used to his Christmas oratorio (Weihnachts-oratorium) from 1973, both intimate and glorious, perfect on all levels, but sadly out of print... This is not out of print - september 2005 - if you search B0007RO57K on Amazon you find the reissue. I have to agree with the other reviewers that this b-minor mass - it is from 1982, not from the 50ies - suffers from some weak singers and a dubious sound quality; it is something foggy about it. Jochum's forces are too big here - unlike the Christmas oratorio - but despite these drawbacks, we still have Jochum's baton, his wand! There is an incomparable dignity to the phrasing and pacing; this is a solemn performance and it grows in my mind by repeated listening. I also like Herreweghe's very different interpretation - Amazon-search B000005Z2W - which in fact has all the clarity, all the transparency I miss by Jochum's 1982-recording. I need them both.

P.S. July 2006: Yes, I did need both, because I had not found Rilling's b-minor mass yet. That one leaves no wishes open and gets the final fifth star, Amazon search: B00004S584.