Choruses want to do Bach's B-Minor Mass the way that symphony orchestras want to do a Beethoven cycle, or opera companies want to do Wagner's Ring. It is the mountain, an enormous, long, exhilarating sing and one of the greatest achievements of a guy who's got a claim to being Western music history's greatest composer.
The trick is not to actually get through it, but to render the seemingly endless details in the piece precisely and clearly while summoning the passion to do this powerful work justice. For the conclusion of its anniversary season, the San Francisco Bach Choir, under Artistic Director Corey Jameson, will show us how it measures up to the Big One. For the Bach-heads among us, there's always room for one more.