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SATURDAY 24 May at 8.00pm
Saint Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Mass in B Minor BWV 232 One of the absolute towering master-pieces of the Western world, Bach’s B Minor Mass always calls for a super-human response from the singers and musicians involved. This will certainly be the case on SATURDAY 24th MAY at the Pro-Cathedral when Dublin Bach Singers, Orchestra of St Cecilia and super line up of soloists: Cara O’Sullivan, Sharon Carty, Jacek Wislocki and Owen Gilhooly perform this sublime, transcending work under the baton of conductor Blánaid Murphy It is not clear why Bach, who was director of music at the Lutheran Thomaskirche in Leipzig, set the full Catholic mass to music. The Kyrie and Gloria were composed in 1733, and the work was expanded to incorporate the rest of the full Mass during the last couple of years of Bach’s life. It was certainly not meant for liturgical use – with two hours of music no congregation would put up with that! The most logical explanation is that in his final years, Bach used the Mass text to create a catalogue and summation of every style and technique he had used throughout his career as a composer. The work consists of a total of 27 sections, each one comprising a couple of phrases from the Mass text. In fact, the first movement manages to turn the two words “Kyrie Eleison” into 11 minutes of music! Of the 27 sections, 18 are for choir, the remaining 9 given to the four soloists, either solo arias or duets. Every style Bach ever used throughout his life appears here: Florid instrumental style fugue (the opening Kyrie), archaic (stile antico) fugues based on Gregorian plainchant (Credo and Confiteor), late-Netherlands polyphony (second Kyrie), the Venetian double-choir concertante style (Osanna), and pictorial text interpretation through musical figures (descending motifs to represent the incarnation of Christ in “Et Carnatus Est” and the burial of Christ “et sepultus est”) and ascending figures to represent the resurrection (“Et resurrexit”). BACH MASS IN B MINOR Saturday 24th May at 8pm St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Dublin Bach Singers Orchestra of St Cecilia Cara O’Sullivan - Soprano Sharon Carty - Alto Jacek Wislocki - Tenor Owen Gilhooly - Bass Blánaid Murphy - Conductor Tickets 25.00 Euro available at the Cathedral Office (Mon-Sat, Cathedral Street, Dublin 1) or at the entrance on the night. Dublin Bach Singers is a dynamic chamber choir under the direction of Blánaid Murphy which specialises in performing the works of JS Bach and his contemporaries, forerunners and successors. The choir celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2013 and has played a pivotal role in the performance of Bach's music in Dublin since its foundation through its many distinguished appearances in the Orchestra of St Cecilia's 10-Year Bach Cantatas Project at St Ann's Church, its critically acclaimed performances of Bach's Mass in B Minor, Matthäus-Passion, Johannes-Passion and the annual performance for charitable causes of Handel's Messiah. Please browse this website to find out more about the choir! You can also keep up-to-date with Dublin Bach Singers via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube! |
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