Bach’s Mass in B-Minor was bouncing off the walls at Alice Tully Hall on Thursday, performed by the American Classical Orchestra conducted by Thomas Crawford.
The conductor John Eliot Gardener, the celebrated interpreter of this repertoire who grew up with the Haussmann portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach, a painting that is considered to be the most authentic and authoritative portrait of the composer in his living room as it had been lent to his parents for safe-keeping during the Second World War, wrote that, to conduct Bach’s Mass in B minor “is to be filled with a tremendous sense of anticipation.”
That sense of anticipation was palpable in the audience that Thursday evening as well and it was not disappointed as Crawford ascended the podium.
If you’re not familiar with the American Classical Orchestra, it is one of the leading period instrument ensembles in the United States and performs many of its concerts in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.
The rich, russet African veneer wood served as an appropriate backdrop for the rich musical history of the period instrument ensemble, the American Classical Orchestra.
Since the hall was reopened after two years of renovation and refurbishment, the concert-going experience has been greatly improved upon. The grand, airy and people-friendly lobby greets the concertgoer before entering the striking auditorium, which, compared to the old Alice Tully Hall, which always felt larger than it was and lacked a certain sense of intimacy. With its rich, russet African veneer wood, today’s Tully Hall exudes a warm and intimate feeling and the quiet sounds of period instruments carry beautifully in the hall.
I always find it amusing to mention to any friends who might be joining me at a concert that Tully Hall is located within 22’ (6.7 m) of the subway tunnel under Broadway, a location that required the insertion of a one-inch (2.5-centimer) thick, cork-lined asbestos pad between the theater’s foundation and bedrock, as well as the isolation of the theater’s walls from structural columns.
The ensemble went on to present a sublime original-instrument performance of J.S. Bach’s B-minor Mass.
It’s fairly easy for Bach’s supreme choral Meisterwerk to impress, but it’s always the interpretation of the conductor, singers, and instrumentalists that takes what could be a good performance and makes it a great one. They achieved a kind of transcendence and it was clear that Crawford has clearly etched musical excellence into the bones of the seasoned singers and instrumentalists.
The enthralled audience at the performance
The orchestra and chorus’ transfixing account of Bach’s Mass in B minor, from the opening the opening “Kyrie eleison” (“Lord, have mercy”), which unfolded with a subtle yearning which made one quite certain that this plea to the Lord would be heard in the heavens, to the final chorus, “Dona nobis pacem” (“Grant us peace”), whose words have even greater meaning today than in other periods of history, this was a rare treat.
The voice of the countertenor, Reginald Mobley, as he shaped the phrases of the mass, shimmered in the hall with an otherworldly radiance. The soprano soloists, Nola Richardson and Kristen Hahn, sang with a rich body and luminous purity.
Nothing less than splendid were the American Classical Orchestra and the American Classical Orchestra Chorus in performing this monumental work, which is a synthesis of every stylistic and technical contribution the Cantor of Leipzig made to music.
The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center at night
THE DETAILS
J.S Bach, Mass in B-Minor (German, h-Moll-Messe) BWV 232
American Classical Orchestra
Performed on March 7, 2024 at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
(Photos: Accura Media Group)
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