Bach - B minor Mass - 02 - Christe eleison

[y7u7r7i]

Does anybody know what day it was recorded, and, within that day, what exact hour, minutes and seconds? Can you also tell me precisely what's the full name of every single musician in this ensemble? Knowing that would make such an enormous difference in my life, it´s by far more important than just listening and connecting to a piece of music...

[angietihi]

What year was this performance?

[Sylvain894]

Even Jesus Christ would have appreciated this mass in b ; Bach was faithful but he was overcharged by contracts from uneasy people; so he wrote music and lyrics for his own deliverance from hell of a life; there's Jesus and God often approached in his sacred cantatas; if he wouldn't have been so faithful to God, this music would have never been played so gracefully !!!

[polymath7]

It's a terrible shame the sound is so low. This performance is exceptional.

[beethomozart]

what a wonderful duet, what a magnifique work

[akhmm]

Bach called for larger orchestras than Akyas Hanna.of.la montanara new sestem

[levipretorio]

God pointed to Gundula and said: This is how everyone should sing!

[isabelita86]

absolutely beautiful

[benedetti]

Good old Gundula and Herta...great!

[ocwhanappi]

very good but not old at that times

[Freddynik]

Richter was the best in Bach direction, no way

[ClassicRockSovereign]

I heard it took Bach over 25 years to write this composition...is that true?

[Lassann]

slkrhg

[Lassann]

srtuetyi

[Lassann]

This thing ain't working right. Anyhoo, no, it's not correct that he spent 25 years on it. What he did was write the Kyrie, Sanctus and Osanna sections in about 1747. The rest he reworked from earlier compositions, mostly cantatas. The Gloria is almost entirely comprised of cantatas, revised both musically and lyrically to fit. And there are a few other subsections he revised from earler work. Most of it are earlier works revised.

[ppaattrea]

Not exactly, I thought bach wrote an initial mass, and later the 'mass in b minor' as we know it was a combination of different pieces he wrote at different periods.

(might not be totally correct on that)

[Nalenthios]

@ppaattrea He wrote a lot of individual pieces, and then later amalgamated them, creating the mass in b minor

[groverman111]

he wrote supposedly the year before he died so no.... i could be wrong though.

[kylejj87]

Absolutely stunning harmony...well written by Bach and well performed by these women.

[astor133]

Is it possible that even professional singers at this level have wrong pronunciation of "eleison"?! The initial "E" has to be pronounced as it's written, and no "I". Christe=latin; eleison= greek

[GeorgeV6v24]

Christe is also greek. christos= blessed in ancient greek.

[astor133]

Sorry... you are right!

[AlsatianCousin]

Church latin and "common" latin differ from another, thus it is alright to pronounce them as they do - it depends greatly whether the work is consider secular or non-secular.

[jewish1972]

no se oye demasiado bien

[cinthia90e87]

Christe Eleison

[lc1265]

hey does anyone know the theme of this section: Chritine elison?

[wcbroccoli]

Which "theme"?

[ufoka01]

It's Christ, mercy us - hope it answers your question.

[Rio1949]

The singers: Gundula Janovitz (soprano) and Hertha Töpper (mezzo).

[bryarworship]

wow

the singers have so much vocal strength

[AKSTERSKY]

heavenly experience

[Nes8821]

magnifique

[wachtelms]

There do exist some baroque traditions that will hopefully not return, e.g., the absence of women singing.

[marinasings]

there's not a whole ton of evidence that supports that there was no use of vibrato in that era. ... it's bach after all, not palestrina...

and also, they're only saying two words in the entire movement, how much emphasis can you put on the text when there's only two words??

[law0010]

I wish people would stop singing Bach with so much vibrato. In the baroque era vibrato was used mostly as ornamentation on long notes.

[nicosupersex]

what do you mean MUCH vibrato, that is just the natural vibrato, it's part of the european way of singing, who doesnt have vibrato, all singers do, all good ones i mean

[law0010]

cant agree with you on that one. its just not in the baroque style.

[nicosupersex]

would you please tell me the names of these non vibrato singers?????

[calosity]

Not necessarily all good ones. But Vibrato is a trait of a well rounded singer. I've heard very good singers with no Vibrato.

[ocwhanappi]

The names of Non-vibrato singers ,please !

[MillyProductions]

does anyone know who the conducter is?!?that is karl richter!! notice him not the singers!!!!

[mendoncacorreia]

That IS Karl Richter, indeed!

[firebreathone]

Don't knock me down on this, but I do believe that a little less vibrato would have been right.

This is baroque

[aleiv]

This is a wonderful execution indeed. Thanx a lot for posting. I wouldn't discuss about all that thing of baroque interpretation when we can clearly hear that these two singers are just wonderful. :)

[AKSTERSKY]

heavenly experience

[carminum]

These two girls make me hold my breath!

Splendid singing of this beautiful aria.

Thanks for putting it on YouTube. Absolutely fantastic!!

[ar13b]

Merci pour ce pur moment de bonheur, quel inspiration, quelle pureté...du pur plaisir!

[Jitpring]

I remember the first time I heard this particular duet. The strange harmonies shocked me. To able to recover that wonder would be wonderful!

[tamerlano]

Wow we've come a long way baby! These gals look SCARED TO DEATH singing this stuff. I am sorry, but Bach done this way is boring and starchy -- both Janowitz and Topper were great singers, but our baroque singers today do better by this phenomenal music.

[Jitpring]

Ditch the chronological snobbery.

[blakley42]

Scared to death?? I don't think so. We're not talking about a couple of warblers hired from the local music union hall; what we have here are two giants of the vocal art, whose rightful place at the highest level of their profession has not diminished with the passage of time.Boring and starchy??!! Did you listen to this? Oh well, your statement at least contained one accurate observation: "I am sorry". Yes, you are.

[tamerlano]

Topper was a "giant of the vocal art"? PLEASE, she was a wonderful singer, but I would not call her a giant. We all have differing views on Baroque practice and that is fine. That said, I hardly think I am a "sorry" person for expressing a view that differs with yours.

[blakley42]

While I will agree that Topper may not be a giant, it remains that you do the legacy of these two wonderful artists a disservice by making an offhand defamatory(and inaccurate) statement about them, compounded by your failure to explain your position. Era-based comparisons are tiresome and meaningless.

[blakley42]

While I will agree that Topper may not be a giant, it remains that you do the legacy of these two wonderful artists a disservice by making an offhand defamatory(and inaccurate) statement about them, compounded by your failure to explain your position. Era-based comparisons are tiresome and meaningless.

[tamerlano]

Which statement was defamatory exactly? OK, I will amend that statement and say that they do not look scared to death, but in fact look dead already. This is singing devoid of emotion or drama, both characateristics found in abundance in Bach's vocal writing. When I want to hear Bach sung with fire, passion, and SPIRIT I turn to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Bernarda Fink, or Dorothea Roschmann, all singers who have learned to meld Baroque practice with modern vocal technique to stunning effect.

[blakley42]

Ah! Finally, you make a point with which I agree--your admiration for the great Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, whose artistic sensibility and musicality were without peer, in my estimation, among singers of this generation; her untimely death was tragic, shattering. Incidentally, if you want passion in singing, listen to G Janowitz sing Dulcissime from Carmina Burana (or stetit puella, for that matter).

[tamerlano]

Yes, the loss of LHL was devestating. I remember finding out she had died and just tearing up...so sad. She was an idol of mine. Her recording of Medee is an absolute marvel from beginning to end. Simply a masterpiece. I'm sorry though, when I listen to Carmina Burana I must have Lucia Popp...another singer who left us too early.

[brunosilvershadow]

so can you tell me who the singers are??? you seem to know it? thanks!

[tamerlano]

Gundula Janowitz and Herta Topper.

[brunosilvershadow]

I'm sorry that i didn't see it was Gundula!!! As she was my Teacher some years ago! A truly fabulous Lady in every sense! But here she is much younger and that's the reason why i didn't see it was her!

[MattQ88]

Although they sound beautiful and have near perfect technique, their eyes did not make it past their scores. There is no communication and I just don't believe them. If there is no communication and the meaning of the text (and music which should compliment the text) isn't carried out, this music (which holds a place in my own heart) doesn't come to life the way it should.

[carminum]

Well, that's because they only have eye FOR the music. I think they're magnificent, how they stand there like to vast Egyptian megaliths, not one muscle moving with any other intent than to serve the music - all attention is devoted to their voices, to Bach. This is what Bach must sound like, not thinny and mousy, but grand and room (i.e. mind) filling. And in spite of the singers' obvious presence, they never stand between the composer and his audience - if they do anything it's communicating.

[tamerlano]

People seem to share two schools of thought on this music. I, for one, find this interpretation staid and devoid of forward momentum. It is what some critics have deemed the "sewing machine school" of Bach conducting and I must agree. To say that this interpretation is serving Bach just does not resonate with me at all. As for vibrato, that is not the issue here. The issue is the lack of rhythmic point and vitality. This is joyous music, and I am not hearing the joy in this performance.

[mendoncacorreia]

You say this is "joyous music": could you elaborate on that, please? This is "Christe eleyson" = "Christ, have mercy upon me": wouldn't joy be somewhat out of place here? Thank you.

[violetchild456]

why can't you just enjoy the music....?

[violetchild456]

to mendoncacorreia

[mendoncacorreia]

That's what I've been doing all along...

[violetchild456]

Yeah, what with criticizing and undermining people's various personal interpretations of the music.

[mendoncacorreia]

All I have been trying to do is (neither to 'criticize' nor to 'undermine' but) to UNDERSTAND those personal interpretations of the music.

You shouldn't be bothered with that: after all, I didn't ask you anything whatsoever; so, it's really none of your business.

[AKSTERSKY]

can you do it better?

[MattQ88]

Be that as it may, I'm still bored. Singers need to be expressive in every way possible. There needs to be expression, in the face as well as in the voice. This does not take away from the quality of the singing, but in regards to performing, they didn't deliver. Regardless of whether or not they sing the same text with the same theme, it's their job to make it different every time. This is just my opinion.

[ouueee]

amazing... the notes are very clean.

[jootje68]

Bedankt!

[fairyboy05]

I think that Bach in not drunk of sad.his music remains us that the joy is only with god.

[scotlegranail]

Love the german bouffants!

[hamsternutz]

listen to the soprano line that starts at about 3:40, one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard.

[Yossi1960]

Thanks! for bringing back Karl Richter on video. It is just amazing.

[D9l3tt]

Thanks so much for posting these clips

[DaveMuc]

So wonderful to 'resurrect' Karl Richter. Ge died so suddenly, His fans are still in shock.

Thank you for this valuable recording.

[bifi34]

Bach makes me really sad his whole music is drunk in the sad but beautiful minor scales Somebody how like this music is a serieus/intelect/sensetive person.

All the number 1 songs in the world is 9 of the 10 minor songs

[richiedrr]

Edith Mathis and Herta Topper singing?

[dutchcub]

No, Gundula Janowitz and Hertha Topper