Mass in G Major; Cantata no 6 (Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden); Cantata no 4 (Christ lag in Todesbunden); Easter Oratorio.
Six tiers of choir, some seventy-four voices ready to sing in German, and an orchestra of twenty-three players were surrounding Morley Whitehead on the small organ. It was the eve of Passion Sunday, and on came the four soloists, soprano, alto, tenor and bass with Neil Mantle, their conductor.
Bach’s Mass in G Major was probably composed during his time in Leipzig - although its material was drawn from other works. This Mass does not rate highly but it is one of his four short Lutheran Masses and deserved to be performed. In its thirty minutes there were arias for both bass and tenor soloist, and a duet for soprano and alto.
Cantata No 6 was written earlier - for Easter Monday 1725. The text tells the story of the Disciples travelling to Emmaus after Christ’s resurrection, meeting Him without realising it was Him and asking Him to stay with them. It begins ‘Stay with us, for evening falls, and the day has declined’ from Luke’s Gospel.
After the interval we heard an even earlier Cantata, No 4 from 1707. The text is from Luther’s Easter Hymn. After the opening Sinfonia the Chorale begins ‘Christ lay in death’s bonds given over for our sins, he has risen again and brought us life’. In its twenty minutes we heard a tenor Chorale, bass Aria and a Duet for soprano and tenor. There were three Chorales for the Lutheran congregation to join in - in Bach’s time.
Bach wrote five versions of his Easter Oratorio - the first time it was used was in 1725 when it was presented as a Cantata. It settled into the Easter Oratorio in 1732. Mary, daughter of James is the soprano, Mary Magdalene the alto, Peter the tenor and John the bass. The evening’s soloists, Rachel Wheatley, Nicky Wood, Malcolm Bennett and Christopher Foster so very successfully brought to life the search for the tomb and discovery that the body was not there. The forty minutes concluded with the Chorus ‘Praise and thanks remain, O Lord, thy song of praise. Hell and devil are now vanquished, and their portals are destroyed’.
Morley Whitehead on the organ was kept at it, the distinguished members of the Orchestra were a treat, but all praise to the Choir and Conductor for a significant evening of Eastertide music.
Event: Saturday, 24 March 2012, 7.30pm