Robert Geary's 175-voice San Francisco Choral Society is celebrating the beginning of its season in a big way, with two performances of Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor in the Calvary Presbyterian Church, on May 3 and 4.
The soloists are soprano Shauna Fallihee, alto Clifton Massey, tenor Brian Thorsett, and bass Nikolas Nackley. The Jubilate Orchestra, performing on period instruments, will provide accompaniment. The chorus website says:
Completed in 1749, the year before his death, the Bach Mass in B Minor is a perennial favorite known for its sublime beauty. ”The Mass in B Minor is as lofty in design, scope and expression as anything written by the hand of man,” says NPR commentator Ted Libbey. ”It represents an attempt to both summarize the tradition of the mass in a single perfect specimen and leave a statement on the nature of sacred music as a bequest to the future.”
Geary adds:
It took almost a full century after Bach’s death for his music to be fully rediscovered. Even then those performing his music did so in the more Romantic style of the 19th century. Only after advances in musical scholarships did his music become performed more authentically.The Mass in B Minor is considered one of his more magnificent works. He completed the piece, remarkably, within two years of his death. History tells us that the purpose and speed of which the piece was accomplished was that for Bach, this was a time of summation and culmination. Drawing inspiration from what was termed "specimen books," Bach delved into the possibilities inherent to his style of powerful and arresting compositions.
Junior and senior high school students can attend the concerts for free, in a program supported by the Wells Fargo and Bernard Osher Foundations. To be on the admission list, e-mail student's name and school to [email protected].