Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite pitch, diction, and feeling: Exquisite Performance, April 5, 2000
Philippe Herreweghe will gain many fans with this recording. I bought it because I had worn out my Gardner recording. Talk about a revelation! Someone else already reviewed the differences in the opening Kyrie, so I won't retread that ground. Suffice it to say that EVERY chorus, aria, and duet is handled deftly but never "nose in the air" bombastic. The Crucifixus, with it's chromatically descending ostinato, transfixed an entire room full of people when I played it recently at our "Music Night". We have them once a month, rotating who chooses the program. I have been asked to include more of Herreweghe's recording of Bach's Mass in B Minor simply on the merits of the Crucifixus. I was deeply moved also by the wonderful "Credo Patrem Omnipotentem Factorum Coeli et Terrae". This recording is so solid, that when the Collegium Vocale resolve their chords at the end of each movement, you can hear the harmonic overtones generated by their purity of pitch. I have never heard such sublime singing. They also (and this is a tough one for most choirs) have their diction so unified that it is literally impossible to tell how many voices are singing - only that they're all singing perfectly together. Get this CD. You will not regret it. Five stars is not enough, but I wasn't given the choice to award more. Bravo, M. Herreweghe!
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50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Herreweghe prooves himself again, March 29, 2003
It is true that the Mass in B-Minor has rather been "taken out of the church." Doubtless, it is a great work that requires virtuosity of all it's performers, but therefore, it is easy for a recording of the Mass in B-Minor to lose it sacred feel. Take, for instance, the recording of the Mass by John Elliot Gardiner: a fine recording, but the oversized, vibrato heavy chorus and bombastic exectution might leave you less then awed.Leave it to Philippe Herreweghe and his fine choir, instrumentalists, and soloists to surpass any recording of this work made. When Bach composed this mass near the end of his life (about 1748), he recycled his best works from his long, illustrious career. Some of these works went as far back as 1714. These recycled works were "tweaked" more or less for improvements, and so most of the Mass in B minor is actually Bach's compendium of what he thought were the highlights of his career. And what better way to show-off Bach's pinnacle work than with Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale! Never using more than 5 singers per part, the choir is uniform. It is a large-sounding choir and their diction is clear as a bell and each line can be heard. The "Patrem omnipotentem factorem coeli et terrae," (Bach's reworked version of cantata #171) is an exciting rendition, as are the other choruses. The sopranos and altos (not including the male altos) in the Collegium Vocale are especially boyish sounding, a good quality for a Bach choral work, sounding closer to what Bach had in mind for his own boy choir in St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Their voices are not vibrato-heavy, making the sound of the choir more appealingly antique and smooth. The church-like resonance of the recording gives the Mass it's sacred atmosphere that other recordings lack. Harmonia Mundi's sound recording quality ranks the label as one of the most loved among classical music listeners. The orchestra is similarly fine. But the real treasure is the soloists. Herreweghe's recordings always boast the some of the finest young soloists of this generation, and this record is no exception. Bach never heard his peerless Mass in B-Minor during his lifetime. But Herreweghe has sure done Mr. Bach proud. Strongly reccomended.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence in recording; One of my favorite discs, July 13, 2005
I have several recordings of the Bach b-minor mass (Gardiner, Shaw, Harnoncourt and Herreweghe). Herreweghe's recording is the favorite hands-down. His artistic choices are excellent; The orchestra and chorus of Collegium Vocale Gent offer a broad and intense palette for Herreweghe's brush. This small chamber orchestra balances the voices beautifully and more succesfully than a large orchestra (Shaw). What is sacrificed in instrumental blending is more than compensated by the pronounced character of each instrument and the resulting dramatic effect. Rather than use brute force in tutti sections, Herreweghe offers subtly of line, emphasizing the genius of Bach's counterpoint with clarity. At times, an almost-spartan string section acts as a haunting backdrop for the soloists and chorus (best example 'Agnus Dei'). This is not to say that instrumental force is lacking; plenty punches through in the 'Gloria' and 'Et Ressurexit' where required, but the voice reigns supreme.
Chorus texture blends beautifully, at times sounding like powerful 4 and 5 part solo work rather than an ensemble; they lend enough force to carry through the full orchestra. Soloists are remarkable, delivering the text clearly and audibly throughout with solid intonation. I applaud the maestro's choices of sopranos Johannette Zomer & Véronique Gens (beautiful work in the 'Christe Eleison') and countertenor Andreas Scholl rather than the more common choice of a female alto; Sorry ladies, but the b-minor demands the purity of a countertenor. Scholl's voice is a perfect pairing to the oboe d'amore in 'Qui sedes ad dexteram patris' and the plaintive organ in 'Angus Dei'. Tempi are a bit fast throughout compared to other recordings but used to good effect.
I would recommend this as a first recording to anyone who is new to the b-minor mass , or as a second (third, fourth, or fifth) recording for those who own other performances. Through his period ensemble and sound judgement, Herreweghe elevates the beauty, expressiveness and drama of Bach's secular mass to a sacred status.
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~ Phillippe Herreweghe
~ J.S. Bach
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is one of Johann Sebastian Bach's 
