Symphony concert
La Cetra (Barockorchester & Vokalensemble Basel)
Jone Martínez sopran
Lea Elisabeth Müller mezzo-sopran
Carlos Mena countertenor
Jakob Pilgram tenor
Tobias Berndt baritone
Andrea Marcon conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (1733-49)
In Memoriam
Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez
Concert with no interval
The Catholic Mass of a Lutheran
“The greatest work of musical art the world has ever seen”, this is how Carl Friedrich Zelter, director of the Berlin Singakademie and Goethe's musical advisor, referred to Bach's Mass in B minor, even before it was published. Paradoxically, the Mass was not conceived in a unitary way. Bach put together its parts at the end of his life, which is why it serves as a colossal testament to his sacred work, curiously following the script of the Catholic liturgy, despite him being considered a fervent Lutheran. The Mass in B minor is indeed one of the most monumental compositions in history, so it will serve as a splendid opening for the 2025 Festival. It will be performed by a team of five world-class soloists, a great specialist like Andrea Marcon and his Basel ensembles, with whom he has just recorded it on disc.
