Bach: Purification Mass

There are recordings that are novel in concept, and those that are idiosyncratic; this one is both, which means it will appeal most to performers and listeners of a speculative orientation. It is largely the creation of Polish countertenor Jakub Burzynski, whose talent certainly can stand with those of his better-known western European counterparts. Listeners wondering whether a new "Purification Mass" of Bach has been recently discovered can be assured that the program here merely represents "music that could have been performed for the feast of the Purification of Mary in Leipzig, ca. 1740." That's a stretch in the case of the final Agnus Dei (minus, for no stated reason, its following Dona nobis pacem chorus), which, although based on earlier music, was probably not composed until the late 1740s. Burzynski and his La Tempesta instrumental ensemble combine Latin mass sections with a cantata and some hymns and other pieces in German, mostly focusing on music with a prominent alto part. It is clear that both Latin and German liturgical music were part of Bach's world; it is less clear that they were mixed together in the way they are here. The hypothetical mass opens with the Missa Brevis in G minor, BWV 235, and follows with the alto solo version of the Cantata No. 82, "Ich habe genug," filling out the liturgy with a chorale Credo in German, a dubious Sanctus, the aforementioned Agnus Dei, the motet-like Bekennen will ich seinen Namen, BWV 200, as a Communion, and a concluding chorale. The entire project seems to be reasoned out from expressive desires rather than historical evidence, and indeed Burzynski, discussing the one-voice-per-part forces (except in the first chorale, but not the second), states that he doesn't want to take sides in the disputes about this procedure, but merely "found [it] the optimal [choice] for the music we recorded here and for the expression we wanted to gain." The balance among singers and instruments may work better in Super Audio surround sound than in the stereo in which it was heard here, where the solo singers, miked close up, tended to dominate the rather murky instruments. Burzynski's reading of Ich habe genug is attractive if a bit brisk. There is doubtless a revolution in Bach performance happening, and this disc will be of interest to those creating and following it.