Bach, J S - Mass in B Minor - Herreweghe, Philippe

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Collegium Vocale Gent / Philippe Herreweghe

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". Philippe Herreweghe's longlasting interest in the works of the Cantor of Leipzig has turned him into a man whose views evolve as he delves deeper into his subject matter. The joy that he feels - combined with a very legitimate sense of pride - in having forged musical tools that have today reached maturity, has led him to come back on a Missa that has never ceased to intrigue him: the catholic Missa of the protestant composer Bach.

Last spring, the Jesus-Christus Kirche in Berlin came alive with the splendid sounds of Bach's score as preceding recordings of the Missa no longer met the radiant vision that the Flemish maestro had of it. Together with a handful of excellent soloists - included in the choir - and a Collegium vocally and instrumentally at its best, Philippe Herreweghe delivers a work that must be savoured like a sweet or a last supper where rigor and hedonism, inner depth and outer seduction tenderly offer themselves to the listener.