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It could be argued that Sergiu Celibidache's 1990 recording of Bach's B minor Mass is not as slow and heavy as it sounds, rather that it just seems that way in comparison with the other B minor masses of the early digital era. Because let us not forget that the early digital era was also the golden age of the historically informed performance practice movement, and for fans of Gardiner, Harnoncourt, and their ilk, performing Bach on modern instruments was immediately suspect and taking him at such measured tempos was automatically rejected.
Even setting anachronistic comparisons aside, however, Celibidache's B minor Mass is undeniably slow and heavy. Even with superb solo singing, soprano Barbara Bonney is simply divine; excellent choral singing, the Bach-Chor of Gutenberg University of Mainz is as fine an amateur choir as is you're ever likely to hear; and skillful playing, the Münchner Philharmoniker plays with as much sustained spiritual and musical strength as is imaginable, Celibidache's B minor still sounds like it's crawling on its hands and knees over a jagged and desolate spiritual landscape. The clarity and luminosity of the Romanian maestro's performance cannot be gainsaid, but even for fans of the classic 1967 Otto Klemperer recording, Celibidache may sound ponderous. EMI's remastering of this live performance is, if not very much clearer, at least much closer than earlier pirated releases.
© TiVo
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Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 (2004 Remastered Version) (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Barbara Bonney, Soprano - Ruxandra Donose, Mezzo-soprano - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Ruxandra Donose, Mezzo-soprano - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Peter Schreier, Tenor - Barbara Bonney, Soprano - Münchner Philharmoniker Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Cornelia Wulkopf, Alto - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Yaron Windmüller, Baritone - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
DISC 2
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Barbara Bonney, Soprano - Cornelia Wulkopf, Alto - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Yaron Windmüller, Baritone - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Peter Schreier, Tenor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Cornelia Wulkopf, Alto - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Mitglieder des Münchner Bach Chor - Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - Sergiu Celibidache, Conductor - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Album review
It could be argued that Sergiu Celibidache's 1990 recording of Bach's B minor Mass is not as slow and heavy as it sounds, rather that it just seems that way in comparison with the other B minor masses of the early digital era. Because let us not forget that the early digital era was also the golden age of the historically informed performance practice movement, and for fans of Gardiner, Harnoncourt, and their ilk, performing Bach on modern instruments was immediately suspect and taking him at such measured tempos was automatically rejected.
Even setting anachronistic comparisons aside, however, Celibidache's B minor Mass is undeniably slow and heavy. Even with superb solo singing, soprano Barbara Bonney is simply divine; excellent choral singing, the Bach-Chor of Gutenberg University of Mainz is as fine an amateur choir as is you're ever likely to hear; and skillful playing, the Münchner Philharmoniker plays with as much sustained spiritual and musical strength as is imaginable, Celibidache's B minor still sounds like it's crawling on its hands and knees over a jagged and desolate spiritual landscape. The clarity and luminosity of the Romanian maestro's performance cannot be gainsaid, but even for fans of the classic 1967 Otto Klemperer recording, Celibidache may sound ponderous. EMI's remastering of this live performance is, if not very much clearer, at least much closer than earlier pirated releases.
© TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 27 track(s)
- Total length: 02:07:38
- Main artists: Sergiù Celibidache
- Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
- Label: Warner Classics
- Genre: Classical Sacred Vocal Music Masses, Passions, Requiems
A Warner Classics release, © 2004 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
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