Mass in B Minor
The boy choir favourite
J. S. Bach
Helena Juntunen, soprano
Monica Groop, alto
Niall Chorell, tenor
Tommi Hakala, bass
Cantores Minores
Finnish Baroque Orchestra
Hannu Norjanen, conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach has undoubtedly secured his place in the canon of music literature. The most central church holidays are continually celebrated with his music, and music institutes and universities still require their students to include obligatory pieces by Bach in their degrees. An abundance of pieces, the one more ambitious than the other, have been composed inspired by the name B-A-C-H, and the most enthusiastic examiners find star charts, hidden sacred numbers, and declarations of the Last Judgement in his compositions.
With time, Bach’s character has formed into a kind of modern day saint. In our eyes, he is a great genius and a virtuoso, the hard-working and humble role model for Christian virtues. No other composer has yet enjoyed such respect, and still today, Bach means a great deal for the concert audiences. Conductor Hannu Norjanen confesses: ”Bach is always topical, because Bach’s unique music and tonal language contain the ingredients of later music. Bach’s music is, as a matter of fact, the basis for music.”
Throughout centuries of performing Bach’s grand works, his passions, oratorios and masses, it has become a strong tradition for the Cantores Minores choir. The boy choir is indeed one of the most important and diligent heralds of Bach’s music in Finland. It is no coincidence that Cantores Minores has, for over fifty years already, successfully organised festivals dedicated to Bach specifically. “Bach’s music is a central part of the boy choir repertoire, and the boys grow up to his music. Bach seems to be the number one for the boys, and the Mass in B Minor is their favourite piece”, Norjanen says.
Duration: 2 t 15 min (incl. intermission)