Anyone who becomes familiar with the music of Bach’s B minor Mass before delving into the history may be surprised to learn that, not only were the various sections written at different times but also for very different purposes; it was only at the end of Bach’s life that they were compiled (with a few newly composed additions) into the single work we know today. But while the seams of the mass remain unconcealed, it nonetheless conveys a remarkable unity; and when given a performance as joyously energetic as the recent one by Ton Koopman and the Berlin Philharmonic it can be one of life’s greatest musical pleasures.
Over the past decades Ton Koopman has built a name for himself as a first class baroque specialist with an attention to period practices. Yet the music performed on this evening had none of the textural austerity or hurried…
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