Whether or not J.S. Bach’s seasonal work is an oratorio in the strict sense of the word is questionable, and for the purposes of a review, it is perhaps immaterial.…
Tag: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Stateliness and sincerity from John Butt and the OAE: Bach’s Mass in B Minor at the Proms
Why Bach wrote the B minor Mass is a puzzle that keeps musicologists occupied. How to perform it today is a probably unresolvable question for practitioners. The Mass began life…
St John Passion: devotion and drama from Mark Padmore and the OAE
J.S. Bach’s two settings of the Passion of Christ are soaring manifestations of early modern Lutheran devotion, profound meditations on suffering (from the Latin verb, patior, meaning ‘to suffer, bear…
Berlioz’s RomÈo et Juliette — Opera with few words
Mark Elder and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment brought Berlioz’s RomÈo et Juliette to the Royal Festrival Hall.