The Mass in b minor, Bach's very last composition, and his largest-scale work, one that has daunted and inspired musicians and listeners to this day. The Netherlands Bach Society, lead by Jos van Veldhoven performs the complete Mass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 18th at 8:00 pm.
What if you went to a performance of Bach's b minor Mass — and no one was on stage? If you are used to the large orchestras and choruses of the traditional Bach's b minor Mass, that might be your initial impression of the Netherlands Bach Society. A scaled down continuo, and four central singer/soloists, occasionally joined by two other singer per part, that's a vocal force of fifteen for Bach's choral masterpiece, better make that vocal masterpiece.
Jos van Veldhoven is one of the most well-known and respected conductors working on imaging and re-imaging early music performance today. He is among the researchers and performers who feel that Bach worked with few singers, perhaps one soloist to a part, and that soloist would sing the entire concert, sometimes backed up by another pair of singers per part.
For balance, it has to be said that this point of view has been part of the early music discussion for over 20 years; so to early music regulars, this is old news. Some conductors, notably Joshua Rifkin have suggested one and only one singer to a part — period. Other early music specialists have no trouble with a larger chorus arguing that Bach would have preferred a larger group — but one thing is clear with the pared down Bach serves the music as well or better in terms of the of vocal clarity and capturing the lines of Bach's complex polyphony.
Jos van Veldhoven has assembled a superb group of singers who have an intimate knowledge in the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. This is a group that did not just drop down from the opera house after a week of Verdi and Wagner, their vibrato-less voices blend beautifully with one another. The Baroque Orchestra of the Netherlands Bach Society is also a group made up of musicians each of whom has considerable individual reputations in the early music performance world, there is a modest swing and swagger to the ensemble.
The Netherlands Bach Society
The Netherlands Bach Society was formed in 1922, the present-day Netherlands Bach Society specialized in the performances of 17th and 18th century repertoire. Most of the concerts take place in the Netherlands; concert tours have also been made to France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Norway, Japan, and the United States. About half of the yearly projects are conducted by artistic director Jos van Veldhoven. On other occasions, the Netherlands Bach Society has collaborated with prominent early music conductors such as Gustav Leonhardt, Paul McCreesh, Marcus Creed, and Masaaki Suzuki.
Jos van Veldhoven has been artistic director of The Netherlands Bach Society since 1983; and among the many conductors working with ideas of Bach's original intentions or practices, he is know for his devotion to the text as well as the score. In a field where examination is a priority this might seem a bit of a surprise, but listening to recent recordings by the Netherlands Bach Society one is struck by van Veldhoven's fluid handling of the score. He establishes a balance that allows for the instrumental and vocal soloists expressive range, while simultaneously keeping the focus on the words, which presumably, would have been Bach's intention as well.
The Netherlands Bach Society recorded performance of the b minor Mass is on Channel Classics Records 25007, a great sounding SACD/CD hybrid. There is a clip of a 2006 concert in Utrecht with voice-overs to give yourself a taste, but you'll have to navigate the site, they don't make it simple: Channel Classics. Please note the deluxe packaging.
The Netherlands Bach Society
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Metropolitan Museum of Art
April 18th, at 8:00 pm
Jos van Veldhoven, conductor
Dorothee Mields, soprano • Johannette Zomer, soprano
Matthew White, alto • Charles Daniels, tenor
Peter Harvey, bass
Bach: Mass in b Minor, BWV 232
