Mass in B minor discography
The listing shows recordings of the Mass in B minor, BWV 232, by Johann Sebastian Bach. The selection is taken from the 281 recordings listed on the Bach Cantatas Website as of 2018, beginning with the first recording by a symphony orchestra and choir to match, conducted by Albert Coates. Beginning in the late 1960s, historically informed performances paved the way for recordings with smaller groups, boys choirs and ensembles playing period instruments, and eventually to recordings using the one-voice-on-a-vocal-part scoring first argued for by Joshua Rifkin in 1982.
History[]
The work was first recorded by symphonic choirs and orchestras. From the late 1960s, historically informed performances (HIP) tried to adhere more to the sounds of the composer's lifetime, who typically wrote for boys choirs and for comparatively small orchestras of Baroque instruments, often now called "period instruments". Some scholars believe that Bach used only one singer for a vocal part in the choral movements, termed "one voice per part" (OVPP). On some of these recordings, the solo singer is reinforced in choral movements with a larger orchestra by a ripieno singer (OVPP+R).
The first complete recording of the work was conducted by Albert Coates in 1929. Robert Shaw led the first American recording in 1947. Some recordings are documents of live concerts, such as a 1968 performance conducted by Karl Richter at the Moscow Conservatory Grand Hall. The same year, the first HIP recording appeared, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, followed by Johan van der Meer's version with the Groningse Bachvereniging in 1975 which was recorded live in Utrecht at the Holland Festival. The first OVPP recording appeared in 1982, conducted by Joshua Rifkin.
Table of selected recordings[]
The sortable listing is taken from the selection provided by Aryeh Oron on the Bach-Cantatas website.
Soloists Bach composed the work for five soloists: soprano I and II, alto, tenor and bass. The soloists are listed in the table in the order SATB.
Some recordings arranged the music for four soloists, the movements in which soprano II (SII) is requested, are divided, sung by soprano I (SI) and alto (A).
Some recordings divide the two bass solos on two singers because of their very different tessitura:
- Quoniam tu solus sanctus: the aria requires a bass with a strong low register
- Et in spiritum sanctum: the aria requires a bass with a high range which would today be termed a baritone
The composition has a movement for two choirs SATB, Osanna. In recordings with one voice per part (OVPP), the soloists are normally listed in the order SSAATTBB. For some recordings, only the singers doing solo work are named.
Choir type
- Large choirs (red background): Large (unspecified), Bach (choir dedicated to Bach's music, founded in the mid-20th century, Boys (choir of all male voices), Radio (choir of a broadcaster), Symphony (choir related to a symphony orchestra)
- Medium-size choirs, such as Chamber, Chorale (choir dedicated mostly to church music), Motet
- One voice per part (green background): OVPP or OVPP+R (with ripienists reinforcing the soloists in some chorale movements)
Orchestra type
- Large orchestras (red background): Bach (orchestra dedicated to Bach's music, founded in the mid-20th century), Radio (symphony orchestra of a broadcaster), Symphony
- Chamber orchestra
- Orchestra on period instruments (green background)
Table[]
Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Choir type | Orch. type |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albert Coates[1]London Symphony Orchestra |
|
HMV | 1929 | Large | Symphony |
Robert Shaw[1]RCA Victor ChoraleRCA Victor Orchestra |
|
RCA Victor | 1947 | Chorale | Radio |
Hermann Scherchen[2]Wiener Akademie-KammerchorWiener Symphoniker |
|
Westminster | 1950 | Chamber | Symphony |
George Enescu[2]BBC ChorusBoyd Neel Orchestra |
|
BBC | 1951 | Radio | Symphony |
Herbert von Karajan[2]Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in WienOrchester der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien, Philharmonia Orchestra |
|
EMI | 1952[a] | Large | Symphony |
Fritz Lehmann[2]RIAS KammerchorKonzerthausorchester Berlin | Urania | 1953 | Chamber | Symphony | |
Fritz Werner[2]Heinrich-Schütz-Chor HeilbronnPforzheim Chamber Orchestra | Erato | 1957 | Chamber | ||
Hermann Scherchen[2]Wiener Akademie-KammerchorVienna State Opera Orchestra |
|
Westminster | 1959 | Chamber | Opera |
Robert Shaw[3]Robert Shaw ChoraleRobert Shaw Orchestra |
|
RCA Victor Red Seal | 1960 | Chorale | Symphony |
Karl Richter[3]Münchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-Orchester |
|
Archiv Produktion | 1961 | Bach | Bach |
Otto Klemperer[3]BBC ChorusPhilharmonia Orchestra |
|
EMI | 1967 | Radio | Symphony |
Nikolaus Harnoncourt[3]Chorus ViennensisConcentus Musicus Wien |
|
Teldec | 1968 | Period | |
Karl Richter[3]Münchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-Orchester | Melodiya / Ars Nova | 1968 | Bach | Bach | |
Johan van der Meer[4]Groningse BachverenigingLa Petite Bande |
|
Teldec | 1968 | Bach | Period |
Herbert von Karajan[4]Wiener SingvereinBerliner Philharmoniker |
|
Deutsche Grammophon | 1974 | Large | Symphony |
Helmuth Rilling[4]Gächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart |
|
Hänssler | 1977 | Chorale | Chamber |
Eugen Jochum[5]Bavarian Radio ChoirBavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra |
|
EMI | 1980 | Radio | Radio |
Joshua Rifkin[5]The Bach Ensemble | Nonesuch | 1982 | OVPP | Period | |
Andrew Parrott[5]Taverner Consort and Players |
|
EMI | 1984 | OVPP | Period |
Gustav Leonhardt[5]Collegium Musicum of De Nederlandse BachverenigingLa Petite Bande |
|
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi | 1985 | Period | |
John Eliot Gardiner[5]The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque Soloists |
|
Archiv | 1985 | Period | |
Helmut Kahlhöfer[5]Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke | Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke | 1985 | |||
Robert Shaw[6][7]Atlanta Symphony Orchestra |
|
Telarc | 1990 | Chamber | Symphony |
Georg Solti[6]Chicago Symphony ChorusChicago Symphony Orchestra |
|
London | 1990 | Symphony | Symphony |
René Jacobs[6]RIAS KammerchorAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin |
|
Berlin Classics | 1992 | Chamber | Period |
Richard Hickox[6]Collegium Musicum 90Collegium Musicum 90 |
|
Chandos | 1992 | Period | |
Karl-Friedrich Beringer[6]Windsbacher KnabenchorDeutsche Kammerakademie Neuss |
|
Hänssler | 1994 | Boys | Chamber |
Ton Koopman[6]Amsterdam Baroque ChoirAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra |
|
Erato | 1994 | Period | |
Carlo Maria Giulini[6]Bavarian Radio ChoirBavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra |
|
Sony | 1994 | Radio | Radio |
Philippe Herreweghe[6]Collegium Vocale GentCollegium Vocale Gent | Harmonia Mundi | 1996 | Period | ||
Robert King[6]Tölzer KnabenchorThe King's Consort |
|
Hyperion | 1996 | Boys | Period |
Thomas Hengelbrock[6]Balthasar-Neumann-ChorFreiburger Barockorchester |
|
Harmonia Mundi | 1996 | Period | |
Greg Funfgeld[6]The Bach Choir of BethlehemThe Bach Festival Orchestra |
|
Dorian Recordings | 1997 | Bach | Bach |
Joshard Daus[6]Bach Ensemble of EuropaChorAkademieMünchner Symphoniker |
|
Arte Nova | 1998 | ||
Helmuth Rilling[6]Gächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart |
|
Hänssler | 1999 | Chorale | Chamber |
Georg Christoph Biller[8]ThomanerchorGewandhausorchester |
|
Naxos | 2000 | Boys | Symphony |
Sigiswald Kuijken[8]La Petite Bande | Urtext | 2000 | OVPP | Period | |
Konrad Junghänel[8]Cantus Cölln | Harmonia Mundi | 2003 | OVPP | Period | |
Frieder Bernius[8]Kammerchor Stuttgart | Carus-Verlag | 2004 | Chamber | Period | |
Helmuth Rilling[8]Gächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart |
|
Hänssler | 2007 | Chorale | Chamber |
Masaaki Suzuki[8]Bach Collegium JapanBach Collegium Japan |
|
BIS | 2007 | Period | |
Sigiswald Kuijken[8]La Petite Bande | Challenge Classics | 2008 | OVPP | Period | |
Frans Brüggen[8]Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century | Glossa | 2009 | Period | ||
Jos van Veldhoven[8]De Nederlandse BachverenigingDe Nederlandse Bachvereniging |
|
Channel Classics Records | 2009 | OVPP+R | Period |
Marc Minkowski[8]Les Musiciens du LouvreLes Musiciens du Louvre |
|
Naïve | 2009 | OVPP+R | Period |
John Butt[8]Dunedin ConsortDunedin Players |
|
Linn | 2009 | OVPP+R | Period |
Georg Christoph Biller[9]ThomanerchorFreiburger Barockorchester |
|
ACCENTUS Music | 2013 | Boys | Period
|
Notes[]
- ^ recorded in Nov. 1952, first in Vienna’s Musikverein and then at Abbey Road, with a patch-up session at Abbey Road on 16 July 1953
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 1: 1900–1949". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 2: 1950–1959". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 3: 1960–1969". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 4: 1970–1979". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 5: 1980–1989". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 6: 1990–1999". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Bach: Mass in B minor - Robert Shaw | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 7: 2000–2009". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Recordings Part 8: 2010–2019". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
External links[]
- Mass in B minor Commentary, musical examples, list of recordings, and other information, on bach-cantatas
- Discographies of compositions by J. S. Bach
- Masses by Johann Sebastian Bach