Why did Bach compose his B minor Mass: as an application for a better paying job, or as the summa sine qua non of his religious art? When did Bach compose his B minor Mass: in his late forties at the high summer of life, or in his early sixties in the darkening winter of life? What is the B minor Mass: a collection of choruses and arias, of stile antico fugues and stile gallant songs that Bach himself plundered and parodied from his earlier works, or is it Bach's greatest, and possibly music's greatest, work dedicated to the glory of God?
Yes. The B minor Mass is all those things and more. But the most important thing about the B minor Mass -- its spiritual greatness -- is a matter of interpretation. Not that its spiritual greatness can be denied, but as a musical work of art, the B minor Mass must be interpreted before listeners can comprehend its greatness.
Karajan's first recording of the Mass is beautifully sung, played, and conducted. The young
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's voice has an ethereal quality wonderfully suited for her role. The chorus has an almost ideal combination of lightness and weight. The orchestra of Viennese players augmented by London-based virtuosos like horn player
Dennis Brain performs with great refinement of tone. And the young
Herbert von Karajan leads the performance with the confidence of a consummate professional.
Consummate professionalism is exactly what Bach's gnarly masterpiece does not need. What is the point of a beautiful Kyrie? "Lord, have mercy on us" is the farthest thing from
Karajan's mind. He is far too concerned with choral-instrumental balances and far too little concerned with the spiritual greatness of the music. And so it goes: beauty, for
Karajan, is not truth. It's merely beauty.