Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Václav Luks / Bach – Mass in B minor - NOSPR

Among the 23 German documents included in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” list, there are but two musical manuscripts: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B minor. The second one – an immense work of sacred music – is both exceptional and paradoxical among all those composed by the cantor of Leipzig. Written in the hope of securing the post of the court composer for the king of Poland and Lithuania, Elector of Saxony Augustus III, seems to crown Bach’s body of work, being a summa of his artistic mastery – paradoxically, as it is a Catholic mass, while Bach is one of the greatest composers of Lutheran sacred music. The Mass in B minor is the peak of Baroque confession, a universe of musical emotions, expanding with every new interpretation. Václav Luks published his recorded version in 2013, and now he returns to the work with other ensembles – the exquisite London-based Choir and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. This is an occasion not to be missed.

[Adam Suprynowicz, translated by Mikołaj Witkowski]

Duration of the concert: approx. 110 minutes